Analysis of researches into the origin and progress of historical time

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i

1

1 UKK^iVC^^rorTilL 1

i'^s^i

/^Y^f

ANALYSIS

fj^.

RESEARCHES 'ft . 1

THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS

HISTORICAL TIME,

FSOM THE CSRATION

To r^B AccESSionf OS CCaligula:

Attempt to arcertaia the Dates of the more notable Erentft
in Ancient Univerfal Hiftory by Aftronomical Calcula-
tion ; the mean Quantity of Generations, proportionate
to the Standard oflfatural Life, in the feveral Ages of
the World; Msgiftracieg, National Epochs, &c. j and t»
conned, by an accurate ChronoJogy, the Times of thft
Hebrews with thofe of the co-cxiftent Pagan Empires ;■
interfperfed with Remarks on Archbifliop Ulher's Annalt
of the Old and New Teltaitient.

Subjoined is an Appendix, containing Stri^res on Sir Ilaac
Newton's Chronology oF Ancient Kingdoms, and on Mr.
Falconer's Chronological Tables, from Solomon to the Dead),
of Alexander the Great.

il*\

BY THE REV. ROBERT WALKER,

SMCrOS OF SHINGHAM, NORFOLK.

fimnd in iht Hilji Biile. Bl ■

LONDON:
Printed for T. CADELLJun. and W. Davies, (Succeflbn

to Mk. Cadkli,], in the Strand.

Sold alTo by F. andC. Rivinoton, St. Paul's Church-yardj

J. FKiDDBHt Flcet-ilreet ; and &. Fa«lu«,

bBond-arcet.

1796.

ro

THE REVEREND AND LEARNED,

THE PROFESSORS AND OTHER MEMBERS

OF

iOTH THE FLOURIsmm UNIVERSITIES

IN ENGLAND,

THIS SPECIMEN OF SACRED CRITICISM

JS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

SY THEia MOST HUMBLE SERVANT,

THE AUTHOU,.

t V' - •

> .».■

... . A •!

W •'*

.. <« • ♦ .

i'-^

P R B B AC E.

T T was the aiit'hoi?*s intention to pubHfli,fevcraI y«ttt
^ fiihcG» the refult of dif^uif&tions, begun in early life
and continued smid a variety of profeflional labourist,
not to tnention emet^ent avocations, «xd peculiar di&>
ficulties, from the myflerious natui*e of the fubje&i
butmoftof all, from the imoA of a collateral hiftoryy
cotniiienfurate witfi^ Sacred Annals of the HArews.
fi recofd, finiiiar to >t^ Chronicles of the Kings itt
Judah and IfraeU well attefted, proceeding from tlie
fame poiftt'df ttme, and referring to the fame p^foni^
•vents, and -dates, would have been a defirabfe ao-
quifition.

Such a fepatttteTecoid never did ejdft. For fitmi
the BEGiNNiHO, as d^finedby Mofes, tatfaatPOlK^
in time, with which She Sacred Annals terminatey
nothing is with -ceitainty known, refpefting tfat
Gentile Antiquities, befides the -reports of the infpirtfd
writ^n ; affid i^atevdr Events they harve preferveS
from oblivi<m, fi> bx from comprifing a fdl hiflory of
all nations^ amount to no more than a few condfe hints
concerning a very few of the idolatrous tribes^, conti*
guoas to Babylonia and' Pkleftine.

AccoRMNO^to Archbiflbop UAef, (who in the arfi
of coniputaiiiQn, and hlAorical arrangement, excelMl
all im fmUvtfS^)^ the Hebrew fcriptinas dostain thi

a 3 Hiftaijr

♦i fRtVACt.

Hifiorjr of 36 centuries, meafured lofy aftronoimiol
years, fingly, or in combination^ generations, magif-
tracies, &c. Moderate anc( evefy wary credible, though
not univerfally adopted, is this quantity of intermediate
time. That luminary of his age, having long poifed,
ia.. an equal balance, the merits of the Hebrew an^d
Greek computation, from Adam to Abraham, found
^he former to preponderate, and judicioufly decided in
fj^your of evidence, ; fiampt with every lignature of
pr<)bability and truths

-.His preference, more from the ftrength of reafon,
than reipefi to the authoi'ity of his name, r^prmii the
iehtlments of bis country, and confirmid thofe on the
cpntinent, .wherever aflent to the Hebrew chronology
had not previoufly obtained an eftabliflimeiit, u» indeed
it had done, in the weilern church, from the days of
Jerome ; and about the era of the Reformation, it
^j^rivei] canonical authority from a decree of the council
#t;Trefit,, before, or about, A* D. 154a* :
-^ Itr Brilain, however, during the currency of the
xvnith century, the fpurious chronology of the Sep-
tu^giht, /o. jufily exploded 150 ye^rs ago, . has again
fijGi^ into credit,, a^ ftjiperleded the genuine notations
of Mofics, the &4 Chronologer an4 Hiltariitd. : ;
l:^^^ gradual change of national opinion, concern*
ing the wilful corruption qf tlie Hebrew oracles, and
i&e,.ii^ttiior integrity of , the ^ Al^i^ca^dfian. .verlion,
(chiefly .with iscgasdto t)K>.fe jmini^rsrwhidicdeteriEm
the^^daf&Of ^NHw^r)^ j^r to- A^rahattfr), difconoerted
the amtboi^ft* meafures, and unavoidably pn)tta3ed the

n ■.■ dfCgn

\

PREFACE. tit

defigti of piublifhing his arrangements of tbe Sacred
Hiftory, cohftruacd on the authority of the Hd>rew
numbcw *, the prime fource of computation. r

In a Differtation not yet publilhed» but kept in
teferve for the Researches, the comparative merits
of the Hebrew and Greek computatitms are^ s^ large»

* Slow wM:tHctranfition from the reformed chronology by
Ufhcr, to the antiquated errors of the Alexandrian fchool :
In 172a Whifton publlfiied the firft volutne Of his eflay for
reftoringthe true text of the Old.Teftament. Other authors
adopted his wild poiition» that the extended chronology of the
Greek Pentateuch is preferable to tbe more conci£e fcheme of
tbe Hebrew text. Kennicott collated a great many MS9*
not Without the hope of finding a confiderable majority id
favour of the world's fuperior antiquity. All bis writingi^
thofi^publHbed AtTBR the edition of his Hebrew Bible no|
excepted) expreft his full convi^ion^ that the J^ws of the
fecond century wilfully mutilated the chronological notations
in tbe Hebrew Genesis :' but the refult of his laboriotfj
Inveftigatiotis' did hot jnftify the augmentation of any one '
number^ much lefs of all. Hisieamedcontemporaries^how*
cYer^ gave bigi implicit' credit for a dtd^oup abfolutely in*
capable qf evidence, fufficient to enforce belief ;— the authen«^
ticity of the Sejptuagint Chronology, fiy refpedlablc author^
has this do^ine been maihtained, (t.) in a Sermbn, printed
t79t, wtiere it is affirm^, " That the fpace from the hoot
of the Fall to the prefcntday is full 7000 years ;^-^-and (^,) |f|
a> late ^ogliih ycrfioa of the Pentateuch, the exaggerated
numbers in the xith chapter of GBNSdis krt taken from the
70 Interpreters (as dbey at^ called), Under the (bl^n decW
r^tioii; that tbt verfion it faithfdlly ttanflated fi^m coite6ted
ttUt^ of ^tfae original. In tfte former cak, extreme ^nrduKti^
in iht latt^^.tbt dceeiyckblcneft of JUmxifli Impoihue* Ss
c^iwmpUfied^

a 4 confldcrll.

f REF A G £•

tflDfidbroi, and a wom^ itieeioft view c»bibit«d in tfae
mAmg^AuiA l v ais . Be i|| in a form kfm wi^t more
diffiifive, rfwiarlDffd».thait.

>' i; «Xhs nvnrvdlons flofiei^ (ranfioiftt^ coxKeraiDg
tha fiiraiatbsoftkitverfiodf if true, imount tomuch
9fpngefe evidence, ct»n |tmt ^Ikged for ibe autheQUcity
of the original ; or, to invert the argument, is it pro*
bable, that the tefihnony of Mofes, alone, was fuf-
j^cient to induce convidiqin ; and that the teftimony of
fO'Saiit>o#». ihi;it42p 'm feparate cells, who all tranllated
th^ &me wvkiiigs, fo as not^ to vary in o»e phrafe or
^rtide, was reqoifite to efiablifli the honeiiy, fluUy
jgid Infpiration of the tranllators ? If this query bt
jnfWred in the affirmative, unavoidable is the inference,
that Lewis Ce^does was under obligations to product
imd<$ftces of tits fkill and fidelity, 70 degrees ftronger
than Mofes for bis veracity as an infpired writer, which
I^hara6ler this coafummate critic has ventured to
contfrcrveit, with neediefs re^ittdns of bil belief.
- *2. Kb i«^i€OTT' alleges, that fottie copies of tht
]^ebrew "peqtatisuch,: having the larger numbers, were
extant in the 4tb century. On the repori of Eufebius
ihecvedibiUty of'thisfaSislaidtareft. Other evidence
)l pfbdwed-lto ooHfirm the^bettef^of copies extftiDg !» tbr
Jli, wB even faWcqucnt centuries •• With aH defc**
rau;e to the veracity of thbfe witnefie?, hp it remarked,
%0t ikm wideace is good for nothings It oug^t
1» have ixea jnoved, by e^idenet,^ dhe&: or .Gircmn*
Ibmtid/- that copies haiifig the larger numbers did

'^Kfftti^'s remarks onfde^ paiTases, 1787. p. 17*

adually

P k E F AC R IX

aAually texifi before the mpi of Ptolemy PI\ilacleIphusi
the ddte of die Greek verfidn. Be it fuppofed, though
it cannot be admitted, that the incredulous Jews of the
.iecoitd centuiy had mutilated the genuine chronology
o^ Mofes iBU(^ mbrc probable it is, that certain
ChriilianS) more zealous than honefi, did actually cor*'
rupt certain copies of the Hebrew Pentateuch, by
ioifting in the aibplified nuibbers of the Greek verfiom ^
This might have been done by foinc profely tes from
Judaifinto Chriftianity, Whofe attachment to the en-
larged chronology prompted them to procure it the
fimAion of Mofes' authority. In the regiflcr of Jacob*s
Ikmily, Gren. xlvi. are various inteipolations. Joreph*!
age was but 3^ in tb^ 130th of his father. The fon at^
the age of I30 yvas introduced to Pharaoh, and was thea
unmarriM. After 9 years, on the arrival of Jacobs
Alanafleh and Ephraim are in the Hebrew mentioned
as tb^ Avhole of Jofeph*s family. But in the Greek.
ver£on .Manafleh and Ephraim had, each, two.fons and
agrandfoo. Thefe were undoubtedly taken by tb^
tratiflators fnm a more recent catalogue* In like
manner^ £x or feven ions of Benjamin were inferted
in tba€ Ml,' &om the Hebrew books of numbers, or -
I Cbtt^inclea, mar^ ^^es, perhaps, before the date of.
fbe Sqi^vagmt verfii(^. , Mofes could not poflibljf .
coniftfaArthttf ^cgiAer iu its prefent farm : I'o m^ny s^d .
ctbvioiis ate its cs-cors. Kennicott diJ not appr^en(}
it tole in daerltafi degree corrupted j and in. none of .
his bulky, volurp^s does one hint occur for anemen*
jiatioD. — ^Thefe, 'and the like interpolations, might

ftive

m PREFACE.

finill a sNunber of mtn (hould agree in a frau^
tfaan that the whale Jewifli nation, magifhrates» prie&s>
kvites, foribeit and people, did un^mimoufly vittata
their fiicred books. Such a projeA could not have been
executed without a confroverry, and hiftorians wouU
have recorded the names of the agents, the time, dilB
fiace^ the motives, the circumfiances, which obltrudedl
or favoured the . reception of the fcheme« The impoftor
Arifteas takes notice, that only one true copy of the
liebsew original was tranfniitted from Jerufakm K»
Alexandria. To prevent the danger of a (hameful
deteflion, that one copy, if difmembered anddeftroyedt
could never be produced, as an evidence either of
fidelity or fraud. But at Jerufalem an immediate dif«
covery rouft have been unavoidable.

6. It muft farther be cenfidered, that the tranflatora
pf the Septuagint, whatever was their number, had ver|r
Ipecious and prevalent inducements to amplify the
liebrew antiquities. Herodotus, mifled by the often-
tatious vanity of the Egyptian priefls, aOigned to that
Empire an incredibly remote eAablilhment. ThU
national pride, like the pellilence, foon infe£led the
contiguous inhabitants of Samaria and Phoenicia* The
former, one full century prior to the time of Ptolemy
Fhilad^lphus, had procured a copy of thelaw for theufe of
thf temjde gn mount Gerizim ; and from every probable
circumftance it is inferred, that the amplified numbers
were firft inferted in that copy, [the Samaritan] and after-
wards in the Greek verfion, where freedoms, far more
^reafonable, were taken with the venerable or^inal^

wbittk

PREFACE, xii.

^ich, however, both parties left immaculate. The
refult of all thete prefumptions is, that the numbers of
the Hebrew text were not retrenched, but thofe of t\w
Greek verfion exaggerated. Be the terms of the in-
Jiftment, as framed by Jackfon and Kennicott, in^
verted^ the following will be its t«ior :

** The tranflators at Alexandria had a. mind to add
one century to the ages of all the patriarchs befbrd
they begat children, and to fliorten in proportion the
after-term of their lives : but they found, that, if they
augmented the ages of Jared, Methafelab, and Lamech^
before they begat children, (as they had done of all the
reft), they mufi, by this reckoning, have extended
theie three lives beyond the Flood." Every competent
and impartial judge, who weighs probabilities in an
equal balance, will pronounce, without befitation, that
the Alexandrian Jews, biafled by an attachment to an
exorbitant chronology, added about fifteen centuriet
to the Mofaicat numbers, with the view of (heltering
the Hebrews from the fuppofed reproach of an upfiart
race, and a recent origin.

7« Kehnlcott feigns ah imaginary motive which be
thinks influenced the Jews of the fecond century.
*^ Let it not be forgotten, that their plan was to bring
back the birth of JefusChrift from the vith to theivtb
Chiliad, from about the year 5500 to 3760 ; in order
to prove, that, at the birth of Jefus, the time for the
Mefliah, was not then come */'

^ s

« Gcn/Diflfert. p . 3s< and Rentarks, p. %6i

The

sir PREFACE.

The Jews were indeed inexpert chronologcrs, and
the primitive Chriftians ftill Icfs accompli died. The
former anticipating the birth of Abraham by 60 ycart,
and retrenching almoft two centuries from the durition
of the Perfian Empire, allow about 3760 years from
Adam'to our vulgar era. But thefe miftakes had no
reference to the term fpecificd for the advent of the
MeiTiab* Their computation was much more accurate
than that of the Cbriftian Fathers, prior to Jcrom and
Auguftine. If the birth of Chrift be brought into
coincidence with 5500, the date exceeds the truth by
almoft 15 centuries, whereas, that aflfigned by the
mailers of the fynagogue falls (bort by about 244 years*
On the authority of tradition, they believed that the con*
tinuance of the world would be fix millenaries, divided
into three equal periods, under the Patriarchs, t he Law, and
the Mefliah ; and the viith millenary they charaderifed
as fabbatical* This is the do6lrine of their Gemara, or
coUefiion of traditions ; but it certainly was much
more ancient. The opinion is reported by Barnabas,
the companion of the apoftle Paul, and was maintained
bjr others of the Chriftian Fathers even thofe of the
jiKST century ♦.

8* Here is direfi hiftorical evidence, authenticating
the adherence of the incredulous Jews of the first
century to the chronology of the Hebrew Pentateuch,
in dired contradiction to thofe of the Chriftian Fathj^rs,
vrbofe authority is alleged for the fir ft introdu£Uon of

* Bp* Watfon's Theological Tra(5l8, vol. iii. p. 5$.

the

PREFACE. X

tliC abbreviated reckoning in the second century*
*f he truth is, that the Chriftian Fathers were tlietn-
felves the heretics of that age, as far as the computatioa
of times is concerned. Except on this one principle,
the plenary infpiration of the Alexandrian interpreters,
it never can be affirmed, that Jefus Chrift was bom at
Bethlehem in, or about, the year of the v^rorld 5500.
The Hebrew notations conne6l this memorable event-
with the clofe of the ivth millenary. But if this latter
date be reje£led the attribute of infpiration is transferred
firora Mofes to thefc interpreters, — a fet of men whole
names were never recorded in hiftory, of whofe abilities
their veriion gives a very contemptible fpecimen, and
whofe want of principle, in giving their fan^tion to
the abfurd fidions of paganifm, in oppofitton to the
authority of a venerable record, (which they were
under facred obligations to tranilate with fidelity}^
tranfmits their infamy to all ages.

9. Obvious are the reafons, which induced firilthe
Hellenift Jews, and afterward thofeCbrifiians who had
abjured gentilifm, to prefer the Greek verfion of the
Old Teftament to the original Hebrew. One motive,
as felf evident, fuperfedes a train of arguments ; both
parties were totally ignorant of the language, in whiih
the facred oracles had been compofed.

The pofterity of thofe Jews, who accompanied
Onias, the firft high prieft of the temple built ia
EgyP^t ^^^^ ^o ^hat at Jerufalem, during the reign of
Ptolemy Pbilometor, having acquired theGreek tongue,
which had become vernacular over the whole Maccdo-

Egyptiaa

xvi PREFACE.

Egyptian Empire, entirely forgot the Hebrew. For
thi*reafon the fcriptures, according to the Greek vcrfion,
were univerfally read in that temple, in all the fyna-
gogues, and in all the private families, of the land.

When the gofpel was firft preached in. Egyptf
Syria^ iind other provinces where t^e Greek language
was fpoken, the apoftles, and other Chriftian miflion-^
aiie8> went into the fynagogues, and preached iho
doArine of the crofs. Wherever they found difciples^
"^appeab were made to thofe Greek fcriptui:es which
leftificd of Chrifi; becaufe their hearers underilobd na
other. Hence eafy it is to account for the quick recep-
tio» of the Septuagint Bible, and its uoiverial ufe»
lK>lh in the Jewifli and Chri&ian aflemblies, difperfed
ever the kingdom of the Greeks*

It is,^ however to be obferved, that neither the one
fntys nor the other knew the diftinfiion between the
chronology of the Hebrew original and of the Greek
refpboiu Without the feaft fufpicion of an attachment^
m tlie tranSators, to the' exorbitant computauons ol
the gentiles, they irapKcitly received the notaticms oi
years expveffed in that veviioii*

Tbjl Jewv who continued in Paleiline fronb the
seign of Cyrus to the ChriAiao era, natural it is to
fuppefe> retained fof » mxKib kmgec fpace of time the
K& of their niother-toilgue, and the reading of their
mnguui Scriptures ; nor doe^ it appear that they
IpnetaNy preferrecl the enlarged chronology of the
HeHcaifts^ before the ^me of theiir total difperfion.

io» Ajtxr the overthrow of Jerwfdlem, Rome be*
nme the mother church. Before the end of the firfl

3 century

PREFACE. xvii

century nearly the whole of the fcriptures Was publifhed
in Latin ♦, which, under the title of the italic ver-
sion, taken from the LXX. was.moft probably read
in the Roman church from the Apoftblical age for
feveral centuries. Hence is inferred the almoft uni-
verfal predileftion of the Chriftian Fathers, in favour of
the Greek chronology. In the fourth century Jerom,
diflTatisfied on this account, (perhaps, among others]^
with that verfion, prepared an entire new tranflation
from thfe Hebrew, and confequently reftored the pri-
mitive Mofaical computation. Thus was the italic
V EROSION fuperfeded by a fubftitute, which' the fynod
at Trent pronounced Canonical.

** The whole Chriftian church, eaftern and weftern,
and all the ancient celebrated writers of thecliurch, heg-
leSed the Hebrew computations, and adhered to the
Greek ; till in the late century, fome, but not all of the
Roman writers, in regard to the decree of the council of
Trent about the vulgar Latin, took to the Hebrew
computations, not becaufe they were the Hebrew, but
becaufe the vulgar Latin agreed with them. Baronius
obferves, that the church lifed anciently to compute the
years from the creation, not according to the Hebrew, but
according to the Septuagint, and cites many authors to
confirm it. He might juftly have cited every ancient
writer, except St. Jerom and St. Auftin. Among the
moderns, Beza was the firft that had any doubts about
the Greek chronology; I fay, had doubtr^ for he
never abfolutely rejefted it, though hp feemed more

i

* Gregory's Church Hiftory, vol. i. p. 70.

b inclined

xvili PREFACE.

inclined to the Hebrew. A few followed his opinion ;
and they are but a few, in comparifon of the many
that have gone the other way *."

In times more liberal^ and confequently lefs perilous^
UOier brought the fubje6l to the teft of cool difpaf*
Conate criticifm, and decided in favour of the Hebrew.
notations. This concluGon, the refult of proofs
judicioufly chofen, and fairly flated, was happily falif-
fadory to the learned of every denomination : the pro^
teflant churches . having concurred with the popilh, in
the article of a truly fcriptural chronologyy without the
leaft fufpicion of fwerving from the principles of the
reformation, which feems to account for the timic}
caution of Theodore Beza.

About the middle of the pad century was the re-
formed chronology exemplified, in the worthy Priroate*«
Annals of the Oj-D and Nevv^ Testament. But
after a few years Ifaac VofSus revived the controverfy,
and by the injudicious zeal of feveral learned and emi'*
nenlly good men, during the paffing century, is th^
erroneous fyilem reAored. As an antidote to the per-*
xnanent and general prevalence of a fcheme, fo incom-
patible with the integrity of the Hebrew Pentateuch,
the author of the Researches undertakes to produce
direft hiftorical evidence that the protraQed chronology
was firft tabricated in the very formation of the Greel^
verfion ; — and to evince, that the concife reckoning of
Mofes allows fufficicnt time for the population requifite

* Shuckfard, vol. i, p. 6i.

to

PREFACE. xix

to conflrufl the tower of Babel, if the difperfion be
referred to the later years of Peleg's life, as the words
of the facred hiftorian naturally admit this fenfe,
and not to the time of his birth. On this principle
too it will appear evident, that, in the 75th of Abra-
ham's age, 427 years aft^r the Flood, the account of
great kingdoms, magnificent cities, &c. then faid to
exift, IS perfeftly confiftent with the courfe of nature,
and improvement in arts. — If thefe pofitions can be •
verified, no plaufible pretext will remain for the utility
of the expanded computation.

In the following fheets a fubjeft coeval with time,
and wide as the planetary fyftem, is exhibited in minia-
ture. It is an attempt to erefl Ancient Hiftory on a
firm and permanent bafis, — an original epoch in
reckoning, and to afcertain the lengths of thofe fixed
terms in computation, of which the fum defines the
paft age of the world, at any given period. Thus are
events, prior, .co-exiftent, or fucceflive, difpofed in
their natural order. For thefe ends the Hebrew books,
the mod ancient and be ft attefted in the world, are
prefumed to afford the moft certain intelligence.

From the gradual improvements in natural know-
ledge, thefe oracles of infpiration derive an acceflion
of evidence in every age. By critical (kill in ancient
tongues and ufages,"^ the facred phrafeology acquires
precifion and fignificance. Reafon is congenial with
faith, and even fcience gives her fanftion to revealed
truth* Aftronomy and Chronology, applied to the
Sacred Hiftory are, happily fabfervient to eftablifti the

b 2 belief

XX PREFACE.

belief of a wife, merciful, and juft Providence fupcrin-
tending the Univerfe. If at any time, emergent per-
plexities occur, to furmount which thefe ufeful arts are
inadequate. Genealogy fuggefts fuch arrangements, as
correfpond to the term of natural life, in the various
periods of time.

By fevcral authors of eminent abilities and learning,
have the genealogies from the firft to the fecond Adam
been examined, but fuccefsfully adjufted by none.
From Jacob to the dilTolution of the Hebrew monarchy
numerous are the fources of uncertainty : and as far as
the writer's knowledge extends, the period from Solomon
to Jofiah has been overlooked by all the critics and
expofitors. In this Analysis the principal difficul-
ties have been obviated, and, it is hoped, confiitentljr
with the courfe of nature.

Revealed religion is not now to be confidered as
a matter of doubtful difputation ; — an inftitution wh^ch
needs the benefit of an apology. This word implies,
imperfeftion, if not demerit. It has flood the tefl of
Time, which, aided by the increafe of knowledge, never
fails to expofe the fallacies of impoflure, and fet forth
the luflre of truth. If feveral parts of the hiftorical
fcriptures be not yet clearly underflood, certain it is»
that nature, providence, and grace, have one origin
and Lord ; and though myfteries occur wherever we
dire£lour thoughts or eyes, we may trufl, thait TIME
will yet unfold many fecrets of unfearchable wifdom,
long before the final refult of things, when order and
liarmony fhall crown all the works of God.

To

PREFACE. xri

To the purfuit and difcoveiy of truths faffiionable
modes of thinking, and the prejudices of hoftile parties,
have ever been unfavourable. This remark is fatally
exemplified in the hiftory of the Pagans, Jews, and
Chriflians. The PagansJ cenfured the Jews becaufe
their facred rites and national laws were dwerfe from
all people: and the Jews hated the Pagans, whom
they very uncharitably pronounced the profane and
accurfid out-cafis from the divine favour. One
grievous confequence of predominant degeneracy,
among the heathen tribes, was the lofs of primeval
tradition ; and then vain imaginations fupplied the want
of true hifisry. Generations and reigns, multiplied at
pleafure, fuggeiled the notion of enormous antiquity.
This was the prevailing foible of the gentile empires,
about the time when the oracles of hiftory and pro-
phecy ceafed among the Hebrews, which was the era, or
dawn of alphabetical compofition, over the wide domains
of paganifm : and that foible had become both extrava-
gant and epidemical, in the age, when the Medo*
Perfian Empire fell.

When the Alexandrian interpreters fet about their
verfion of the Mofaical volumes, the Egyptians had
previoufly claimed, by immemorial prefcripdon, an
origin of 36,000 years prior to Cambyfes ; nay Cicero
reports, that they boafted of celeftial obfervations
during the lapfe of 470,000 years*. Thofe inter-
preters, conGdering their kingdom as one of the oldeft

• Dc Divin. 1 1.

b^ in

x*Ii PREFACE.

in the world, wilhed to impart to the Hebrews, whole
religion they profeflcd, a fmall moiety of the reputa-
tion derived from antiquity; and in the manner already
fet forth, enlarged the times prior to Abraham, by the
addition of 15 fiHitious centuries. This is one inftance
of fafhionabie opinions, in their unhappy influen(!e
to miflead the minds of men. Other examples are in
leferve.

II. A FORMER hint mud here be repeated. Thole
Hellenift Jews, who had been inftrufted in the religion
of Mofcs, and with it in the language of Greece, wese
generally unacquainted with that in which the Pen*
tateuch, and fubfequent volumes of the jacred eanon^
had been compofed. They therefore could not difcover
the frauds of the tranflators, in amplifying the years of
the patriarchal genealogies. Not incongruous with
reafon or probability is the furmifc, that fome individuals,
at Icaft, of thofe Hellenifts, or that multitudes of their
defcendants, embraced the gofpel. Such proietytes
from Judaifm to ChrMlianity, doubtlefs continued as
ignorant as before, of the primitive Mofaical chrono*
logy y and to the writings of Mofes and the Prophets^
as then extant in the Greek tongue, were they referred
for the things concerning the charader of Chriit. Be
it not fuppofed, that Jefus or his apoAIes appeared in*
that age to give the fan3ion to any one fcheme of
Chronology. Much more augull were the obje&s of
their commiflion. Befides, the true chronological
numbers, entire and unvitiated, were then, as now,
extant in the Hebrew Pentateuch, the fole and fupreme •

ftandard

PR EFFACE, «xiii

•iUndard 'for oomputation in every age. The fafthere
principatlly intended is the force of early difciplitt^,
and of immemorial prcfcription, on the minds of
individaals, fe£ts, and fucceflive generations.

•It remains to confiderthe hoftile fpirit of faftion, in
its baneful tendency to pervert the human judgenient'.

Of the Chriftian Fathers a very great majority viras
•better acquainted with the Greek, than the Hebrew
Bible, and moft probably the incredulous Jews of
Paleftine, in« the firft century of our era. During tlie
currency of ' that one century, it may be prefumed,
the controverfy was firft broached, concerning the
time fore-oirfaihed for the appearance ' of the Meffiah :
and the tradition already mentioned feems to have been
common to both parties ; — that the vith millenary of
the world was the proper date ; and, by the Greek com-
putation, the then current century was about the center,
or intermediate point, of that age, A. M; 5500.

Pressed with this perplexing difficulty, the Rabbis
of that time, who were beft acquainted with the-
Hebrew notations, betook themfelves to the ftudy of
the original, and firll difcovered the profane difingenuity
of the Alexandrian interpreters. Thus furnifhed with
well-tempered weapons from the Sacred Armory, thefe
Rabbis might, as they very probably did, argue witli
the Chriftians, that in perfeft harmony with the genuine
Chronology of the world, as ftated by Mofes, 2000 years
were then to elapfe before the appearance of the Mefliah.
Both parties mifunderflood the Scriptures to which
tbey fcverally appealed. The Jews erred in deferring

5 Oif

icxiv PREFACE.

the advent of their Prince, to the end of the vlth tnille«
nary, and the ChfiQians, in adding 15 pominal cen*
turies to the then age of the world. The natural efieA
of fuch remonfirances would have been convidion oa
both 6des. But the Jews continued incredulous, and
the 'ChriAians falfely charged their antagonifls with. the
facrilegious guilt of mutilating their chronology, to elude
the characters of time which defined the advent of the
Mefliah.

12. Jackson, with our other modern patrons of the
Greek chronology, refers to certain records, where it
is affirmed, that the Jews kept a yearly feflival in
iionour of the old Greek verfion, and in pious thank*
fulnefs for fo great a blefling ; but that about A, D,
130, they riot only declared it to be full of errors, and
forbade the reading of it; but alfo kept a folema
Fail on the 8th day of Tebetb, in order to curfe the
memory ofits being then made*.

On the authority of Philo, a contemporary writer^
it is but equitable to admit the fa6l ; bccaufe it is not
rendered doubtful by contradi6lory evidence ; but the
affigaed reafon, favouring fo ftrongly of calumny and
of virulence, may julUy merit reprobation. Inveterate
prejudice (leels the heart, fo as to obfiru£l and defeat
the opei'ations of fweet humanity, to violate all the
regards due to that inviolable, that awful, that facred things
TRUTH ; and to arm the hand, that organ of (kill, power^
and mercy, with the bloody weapons of perfecution.

• Kennicolti Diflert. ii. p. 366.

May

PREFACE. XXV

May it not be prefuraed, with every Cgnature of
truth, that the Jews, yet declared enemies to the
dofirine of the crofs, convinced that the Alexandrine
verfion of the Pentateuch (from certain fmifter motives
had been wrefted to a partial conformity with the licen-
tious computations of paganifm) had dete3ed the grofs
prejudices of the unprincipled tranflators, in favour of
an incredibly remote antiquity ; and, in confequence of
a difcovery, at once fo unexpefled and important, em"
ployed Aquila to prepare a Greek verfion lefs repugnant
to the original. That tranflation was publifhed, and,
in procefs of time, two more by Theodotion and Sym-
machus, (all within the fpace of 70 years, ending A. D.
200), in which the genealogical numbers agree in
quantity with the Hebrew texts. " It is remarkable,
that Eufebius Emifenus who flourifhed about A. D. 340,
mentions Symmachus, (and not Aquila or Theodotion},
as always putting 100 years less, in the ancient genera--
iionsy agreeably to the Hebrew ; fo that if the Hebrew
chronology was [were] contraSed, it was probably
done in the interval between Theodotion and Sym-
machus.'' The above aflertion of Eufebius is given by
Montfaucon in his Prelimin. Differt, p. 54 ♦.

13. This aflertion of Eufebius Emifenus, though ap^
proved by Montfaucon and Kennicott, no lefs merits
rejeftion, than the flander raifed by the Chriftian
Fathers againft the Jews of the fecond centuiy, that
they mutilated the genealogical notations in their Penf

* Kennicott, ii. 369.

tateuch.

xxvi PREFACE.

tatcuch. On teftimonies whicH are highly refpeAabiet
and reafons fuperior to every fufpicion of amt>iguityf
it is maintained, that, after the o\'erthrow of Jeruialem«
it was abfolutely impoflible for the Jews to corrupt, by
a national deed, their canonical records. At fo receat
a period the mutilation of their chronology would have
availed them nothing. As they acknowledged, that
their promifed Deliverer had not appeared, a projed to
amplify their chronology would much better have ferved
their 'riofe. Befides, had they curtailed the yearf
of all the copies in their poifeffion, an equal number, at
kail, was in the hands of the Chriftians, who would
not fuffer fo glaring a corruption to pafii without
fpirited remonit ranees.

14. On the whole, whatever reafonable and generous
allowance (hould be made for (here and there) a wilful
error by afingle hand, or for incidental overfights in
the multiplication of tranfcripts, the Jews were faithfal
depofitaries of their facred books. The Samaritans en*
larged the times in their copy of the Pentateuch, the
Alexandrians in their verfion, and moreover bafely io.
ferted a fpurious patriarch *. But in other refpe£^s the
Hebrew chronology has been (by the fignal favour of
a watchful Providence) tranfmitted pure, entire, and
fafe, to the pafling generation, at the commencement
of the 59th century from the creation.

1 5. This prefatory addrefs could not more appoGtely
end than with the iollowing quotation from a Ute profi-

• The fecond Cainan.

cient

P R f: r A C E. xxvii

cientinSacredCriticifra* ««The,lightithat arofci^ponthe
Cbriftian world at the Rieformation, hath ftill comi««ed
to increafc, and we truft willjhine more and more^ unto
the perfeSf day. The labours of the learned have, from
that time, by the blefling of God upon the free exercife
of reafon and private judgement, been greatly fuccefsful
in promoting religious knowledge ; and particularly in
laying open the hidden treafures of divine wifdom, con-
tained in the Holy Scriptures. Much hath been
done in this important work, and much ftil! remains to
be done. Thofe heavenly (lores are inexhauftible : every
new acquifition leads on to new difcoveries ; and the
moft careful fearch will ftiil leave enough to invite, and
reward the repeated refearches of the pious and induf-
trious, to the lateft ages. This is a work that demands
our firft and moft earneft regard ; the ftudies and af-
fiftance, the favour and encouragement of all. To con-
firm and illuftrate THESE holy writings, to evince their
truth, to {hew their confiftency, to explain their mean-
ing, to make them more generally known and ftudied,
more eafily and perfe611y underftood, by all ; to remove
dHHcuhies, which difcourage the honeft endeavours of
the unlearned, and provoke the malicious cavils of
the half-learned :•— tiiis is the moft worthy objedi
diat can engage our attention ; the moft important end,
to which our labours, in the fearch of truth, can be
directed. Here I cannot but mention, that nothing
would more efFettually conduce to tins end, than the
exhibiting of the Holy Scriptures themfelves to the

people,

•SX

INTRODUCTION.

In aii age wlien the natural meifureis of time are
exaftly afcertained, and the arts of computation
reduced to fyftematical precrfidn, 'it may fecm a paradox,
that thefc arts have never been applied to thofe raea-
fiires, with a degree of fucceft which infallibly deter-
mines the pafi duration of the world.

Chronology can be carried no farther back than
the moft remote point in hiftorical time. All beyond
is the region' of puiie aftronomical operations, which
mark imaginary limits ih antemundan duration.

The vulgar Chi:iftian Era, with fefpe6t to which
all dates art denominated prior or fubfequent, is^ by
immemorial prcfcription, accounted the center of
aft/onomical calculations. For example, from the firfl:
of January A. D. 17^5, count back 179+ fol a r tropical
yoaili^ the reckoning is carried up to January ill in
the number of the Julian period 4714, where the era
begins with' unity. Hence continue the retrograde
feries of natural yeai^ up to that firfl point, which
Mofes calls the beginning, when God created the
beavens aiul the earth j — there meafured Time begins.

B Com-

a DivisiaN of the Times

Computation may proceed farther, if the exiftenae of
the planetary fyftem be fuppofcd: but beyond the
primary fource of mcafured durarton, divided into dif-
tinft porfionsy by the rcvolvnig luminaries, 'neither
chronology nor hiftory can proceed.

How is the quantity of this retrograde feries defined!^
By fixed periods, extending progreflively from the origii^
of things, to the time of the crucifixion. The biftorical
records of the Hebrews, it is true,, leave a void fpace
of more than four centuries, prior to the annals of the
New Teftament. But this apparent deficiency is abuiv*
dantly compenfatedr by the infallible oracles of pro*
phecy, which fpccify- an interval of 490 years, tO'
comnoence with z certain date, fubfequent to the
return of the captiyes from Babylon, and to end vfith,
the cutting off of the Meffiah. The ferics in tho retro*' .
grade order, is thus completed :
Frpm the Crucifixion^
To the date of Ezra's CommtiSon - 4^

Overthrow of Jerufalemand-the Temple ijo. .
Foundation of the firft Temple -, 43fcfr
Releafe from Egypt - - ^So^*

Date of the fojourning in Canaan ai^'

Egyjpt . . - \4^&'

Termination of the Deluge m. 42V:'

Creation - • 1656^

itfp>

It. is to be noted, that the computatioor b^iiis ;m€iiri
the time of the vernal equinox, in the year of out Lordfsi
paffion;^ and therefore ends with the fame^ aaixUn^
point in the firft year of the worI(^ though' &»\ monfh^

3 - *ft«^

]iefote the CRtiCrFtxioN* ^

tFtcr the creation ; for at the Exodus was intro4ucecl
a change of ftile, by which the feventh month of the
primitive year, asanciently computed, became the firfl,
3:9 then altered t " This month (hall be unto you the
beginning of months ; it (hall be tl^e firft month of the
year/*

By the Julian calendar, every Hebrew year, counted
from one autumnal equinox to another, falls in with
two numbers of the Julian period. The firft year of the
world therefore expired the 31ft December 706; and
the fccond began JatTuary 707. By this rule, the time
of the crucifixioti coincided with the feventh month of
the year 4041 fcorri the creation. Kence deduft 37, the
current year of Chrift's life, the time of his nativity
is cohne6h:d with^4oo4.

The prefanied uncertainty of an infallible ftandard
in computation has long perplexed chronologers. la
the Hebrew Annils the notations of time have every
reafonable clahn: to piiefcrence; That th^fe which
define the interval' froni Adam to Abraham hav'e beerf
fcgregioufly carraptcid, by mutilation or accident, hath
often been t&ttofaiy but never proved. The numbers
ih the vth and kith chapters of Genefis, as exhibited'
in the Greek vcrlionir exceed thofe in the Hebrew*
origUial by about* f56o years. But the triinflatorsp-
t» compliance: with that epidemical afieflatidn of a*
semote origin^ which then had become prevalent
smon; the GentHe ^nations, enlarged, (by otte century-
each),' Ac a^ of fifteetipatiriafchs at the birtli'of their
ijpecified &nsw' Inpelled by* the fame vanity, Jofephus^
kavbg the Hdatw ttzt fuH ixi bis vi^W, preferred x\m

B 2, exaggerated

4 Division of the Tih(t$

exaggerated chronology of thcfc interpreters, unJer
the falfe pretence of tratiflating faithfully from the
original. The Samaritan copy differs from both,
fometimes by deCefl, fometimes by cxtefe ; but none of
^1 the three is of equal authority, with the genuine
Hebrew Annals.

\ Or the world's origin Mofes'gaVe the firft, and the
only authentic account; and thence to the year of hit
own death continued the hiftory in an orderly feries of
flriking events, intermixed, or rather infeparaMy con-
ne£led with fuch deciflvc chara6lers of time, as define
the pad duration of the world, at the entrance into
Canaan. The whole interval is 5^554. aftronomicrf
years, fix months..... .

With equal fignatures of precifion, and without
One vac^ant' ffi&ce)' is the chronology of the Hebrews
pfofeiTedlyy and of the Pagan nations Incidentally con-
tinued from onfe flage to another; Where the hi flory
J^MofeS ends^ there that by Joihua begins, riot with*
9Ut obyipu^ Irints of a ccfitinnatibn. In the fami
^lapnqr is'thcjine pf <:bronolo^iqil pfder prolonged in
the hifi<>ry.pf th^ Judges, including^- that/ of Ruth, to
tbe delttb rof , SamfpYi. In the tv^d bdois of Samuel^
widthd:fi(ll of th6 Kings, is; the hiftory of Samuel -»
government, with that of the £rft tt^ monarchs, dc^
fcribed, in.si reguUr feries of events,. and with requifite
notations of timd. ' In the 4th'of Solonion were the
foundations . of the Temple laidj duHng the cucrentjr
of the 480th year from the Exodiis. . Deduft the 40
years fpetit.in the defart;; the inter val'from the pafl&ige
9ver Jordan is 440 : and 440 + ^554 s^iB994r which
r > w . fum

Before the Crucifixiok. ^

fiftn is the age of the world in full yearSi not in-^
cladiag the 4th of Solomon, whence a new term in
computation begins.

From the 4th of Solomon to the 3d of Jehoiakim»
both included, is a period of 408 years. Add the 7a
years of the captivity ; 408 -j- 7^ = 478 + 2994 =
3472, the^ge of the world at the return from Babylon^
excluding the firfi of Cyrus.

From Darius the Medc to the 15th of Darius No-^

thus, beyond which the canonical records of the He«

.brews do not extend, the intermediate fpace is 128

years, which bring down the computation to A. M,

3600.

This long period with refpeft to the Hebrews, (na
part being unknown or fabulous) is all purely
HISTORICAL.. It has been pronounced an imper-
feflLon in the Hebrew annals, that the hiftory con-
tained in them can be authenticated by no collateral
teftimony. But neither can it be difproved by authentic
records of equal antiquity, and credit. Paganifm had
neither oracles, nor national hiflories, of fo early a date^
or fo well attisfted.

As the final period of the Hebrew monarchy drew
nigh, the facred writers had the precaution, or, rather^
were fupernaturally dire£led, to conne£l their national
chronology with that of the co-exiftent Pagan ftates*
For inilance, Jofiah was contemporary with Pharaoh
Necho, king of Egypt :—rthe 4th of Jehoiakim was the
I ft of Nebuchadnezzar; whofe 1 8th was the loth of
Zedekiah :--In the ift of Cyrus were the Jews ho-
liourably difinilTed. frorn Babylon: — in the 6th of

B 3 Darius

6 Division of the Times

Darius Hyftafpis was the fecond temple finifhed:-^
in the 7th of Artaxerxes Longimanus did Ezra receive
his commifiion ; Nehemiah his in the 2oth. Thefe
and the like notations, though feemingly incidental,
are of fignal ufe in conneding the Jcwifh hiftory
with that of the Gentiles, To the fame important
end are the fcveral chronological eras of pagan ifm emi-
nently fubfervient ;— the Greek Olympiad, the Var-
ronian £pochs of Rome, NabonafTar, the Seleucidae \
Ptolemy's Mathematical Syntaxls, &c.

In the long interval from Nehemiah to the Evan»
gelifts, (and indeed ever after the return from Babylon),
the Jews having become tributary to the four mp^
narcbies in fiicceflion, their hiilory is intermixed, with
that of the nations among whom they were difperfed \
and is yet extant in the writings, which have been
tranfmitted, either in part or entire, to the prefent
age. Certain fragments of their ftory, no where elfc
to be found, are preferved in the two Apocryphal
books of the Maccabees. Jofephus, the glory of his
nation, in its lafi period, has exhibited a perpetual
commentary on the infpired hiftorical books, and a
continuation of the national annals^ coIle£led with great
induftry and judgment from many repofitories of au-«
thentic hiifiorical information, long fince ^eftroyed ;
but ftill extant in his valuable books of the Jewifli
Antiquities, and Wars; which extend nearly to the
*£icond century of our era. The ingredients of the in-<
tormediate hi(lor)r, fo far from being deficient, arc in
far greater abundance, than is neceflary to condu6k the
juttieot axi4 &Uful chronologer from one ftage to

\ another^

B^ore the Crucifixion. . 7

Mother, in computation, till he arrive at that brilliant
period ift pagan Hterature ; — the Auguftah age.

Among the Greek authors, of fuperior note, the
following, in the order of time, merit fpectal regard:
Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Diodo-
rur St<r. Dtonyfius HafL Plutarch, Arrian, Appian,
Diogenes Laert. Philoftratus, Dion Caflius. The
principal Roman Writers whofe works yet remaining '
•conduce to adjuft the chronology and hiftory of their
own* nation to computations in ufe among other ftates^
aire either the general hiftorians, as Livy ; — thofe who
.wrote of particular periods, as Salluft, Julius Caefar ;—
«pitomifts, as Eutropius, Florus, Paterculus; — anti-
quaries, as Cato, Varro, Gdlius; — biographers, as
C. Nepos, &c. Thus was it < providentially ordained
that no blank fpace {hould be left in the long period from
the firft to the fecond Adam. , In fhort, from the
feventh day of the primeval week, when the Almighty
relied from the work of creation, to the firft day of
that week, when Jefus Chrift role from the grave, as
the LIVING HEAD of a NEW WORLD, whether the
computation proceed by the combination of natural
days into weeks, lunatbns, equinoxes, and folftices;
hy fingle aftronomical ye^rs, or circulating periods of
fuch years ; by the generations of men, or the dura«
tion of reigns, pontificates, and other magiftrades;
not one day can be acquired or bft, during the lajife
of 4040 years^ fix months *•

^ The

* It muft be admitted, that, in reckoning from the primary
Iborce of meafured time, to the crucifixion, by the Julian year,

B 4 (^ recent

8 Division of the Times, &c.

The years from the day on which Chrift rofe froM
the grave, to that on which the Creator refted from
his work, have, by notations exprefled in the holy
oi^acles, been circumfcribed within the limits of 4040
years, fix months. A perfeft cube, thrown in any
direftion, pn ^ pjain furface, muft ever light upon
9H equal fide. If the computation now proceed in
'the progreflTive order, from the 7th of the primeval
We^k, to the day on which our Lord rofe to ao
endlefs life, the refult in days, weeks, and years, wi|l
\c the fame ; even though periods diffeTept in quantity
l)e adopted.

Years from the firft of Adam, in the

year of the world . - op

To the end pf Noah's 601 ft year -: 1657

(Commencement of Abraham's

fojourning - 428 2085

Departure of the 12 tribes

from Egypt - 430 2514!

Foundation of the firft temple 480 2995

Its conflagiration - 426 3421

Date of Ezra's commiffion 130 3551

True hiftorical year of Chrift*s

nativity - 453 4004

Year of the crucifixion - 37 4o4of

(a recent and unaftropomical mcafure), an cxcrefcence of %t
fupernumcrary days 13 colledled. But retrench this nominal
quantity of time, which has no root in planetary revohitions,
no difference will remain, except that between time real and^
apparent, which is itfelf the fubjcft of calculation.

{ 9 )

9

CHAP. I.
Vulgar and Hijiorical Bates of the Chriftian Era.

PRIOR to the refurreflion of letters in Europe
very little progrefs had been made in the art of
computing times. The ufc of aftronomical chronology
to methodize hillory was no fooner perceived, thsp
Scaliger, Petau, and other learned foreigners, applied
iKeir great talents to the elucidation, of a fubjed, till
then involved in a maze of perplexity. Not altogether*
fruitlefs were their efforts ; for partial light was educed
from palpable darknefs.

In the paft century the Moft Reverend Dr. James -
Uflier, primate of Armagh, finding the fchemes of all
his predeceffors in chronological enquiries, equivocal^
difcordant, and contradidlory, embarked in the famie
arduous enterprife, not without the fanguine hope
of momentous difcoverie^. The refult was a fyftem
of all others the neareft to truth, yet not altogether
exempt from imperfeftions. His Annals of the World,

tjipugh the capital produClipn of a great matter, and

hitherto

lo Vulgar ahi Hijlorlcal Dates

Jbitherto jufily efteemed, as an invaluable treafure of
ancient uni\'erfal hiftory, are con{tru6led on an erro«
neous hypothefis.

DiONYSiusthe Littk brought the vulgar era of the
nativity too lowby four years. For from the gofpelhiftory
it is evident, that Jefus was born while Herod was living ;
and many infallible characters of time evince, that this
prince died in the fpring, a fliort time before the folemni-
zation of a paffover, and a few days after an eclipfe of
the moon, obferved at Jericho, on the morning of the
i3th March, A.P.Jul. 4710. If the 25th of the
preceding December were, as commonly fuppofed, the
true date of our Saviour's birth ; if, by the order of
Herbd, the innocents were maflacred on the 28th of
^the feme month ; and Jefus, in the intermediate fpace,
ivere removed into Egypt, as lie certainly was, prior
to tteft fnaflacre ; — it mull follow that the prefentation
^ of him in the temple was deferred fill after his return
frbm Egypt, But the law had prefcribed the 40th day
bf every maleinfant's life for that foleranity : and the
warning to return from Egypt was fubfequent to
'Herod*s demife,' which did not happen before the 20th
of March. Confequently our Xord's prefentation in the
•tctnple and the maflacrc of the innocents ' were prior
t6 the 28th December A. P. J. 4709. The date of his
Wrt'hts, with the bigheft degrees of hiftorical proba-
bility, referred to t^ fearft of tabemacfes in that
yean

Thus, without innirring the cenfure of a rafh
fetctmination, 4aQay the birth of Chrift be connefled

nearly

Of the CHRlStlAN ERA'i fES

nearly with the time of the autumnal cqumox A. M«
4004, comcident, as before^ with the number of tfas
Jul. Per. 4709-

By this arrangement is the metachronifm of'the
J)ianyfian era reflified. The worthy Metropolitan,
however, fixing on this true hiftorical term of *the
^nativity, pronounces it, (by a ftrange confufion of
idates), the vulgar reckoning, and removes the genuine
:center of computation four years higher, fo as to co^
incide with A, M. 4000,

In Chronology, as in other arts, one error is the
Source of many more. To give his fcheme the figure
of coherence, he found it neceflary to antedate the
Chriflian era by four years, and to take as many fron
the then pad age of the world. By this injudicious
experiment the primate triifted, that, inftead of the
common and vulgar, he (hould obtain a true and natural
^poch of the nativity of Chrift *. Having transferred
that event from 4008 to 4004, he had already obtained
the true and natural term. Moft prepofterous it <:er«
tainly was to anticipate the hiftorical date of the
Chriilian era by four years^ and to retrench as many
from the fource of hiftorical time. The general refult
of this fundamental overfight pervades the whole
CHRONOLOGY of the ANNALS, and aflignsto every
hiftorical event an erroneous date, with refpe£l to
-one Qx other of the three chronological reckonings, l^
the years of the world, of the Julian period, or bf

• See htfPrefece, ^

thofe

te Vulgar and Hlftmcal Dates

thofe before A. D. l« But the more particular mif-
aurangements aie, i. The fifth year of tiie world U
accouDted the firft. 2. The hiftorical year of the
nativity is confounded with the vulgar or Dionyfian.
3. To circumfcribe the interval, from the creation to
the Chrifiian era, within the narrow limits of 40 cen-
turies, four years are withdrawn from the reigns
between Afa and Hezekiah. Let the four years taken
from tiie age of the world be reflored ; the firft will
coincide with the number of the Jul. Per. 706, not 710
as in the Annals ;— the i6th of Ahaz with A. M. 3282,
not 3*77; — the hiftorical year of the nativity with
40049 not 4000 ; — and the Dionyfian or Common,
yi'vki 4008, not 4004.

Though the ufual computation by A. D. is at variance
with aftronomy, chronology, and hiftory, ** Yet,*' (<is
Holder remarks), " fince it is, and has univerfally been
received over all Cbriflendom, our compute by it is
certain, and not liable to any error*."

As a term of art, eftabliOied by immemorial pre-
fcription* it may be retained in exprefling dates. Thofe,
who ftudy precifion in reckoning, have only to recolleft,
that the paffing year 1795, is in truth the 1799th from
our Lord's birth exclu/ively. To this number, if the
years of hiftprical time, 4QP4, prior to our era, he
added, (1799 4-4004= s8p3), the refult will be the
fame with that of the common numbers added together*
Jbr example, 1795 +4008 -zz 5803,

• Pifcouyfc Qp Time, p. 31.

IM

Of tU Christian Era, i%

Jn the Annals the long interval from the creation
to the overthrow of Jerufalem is divided- intofevei|^ige$»
This divifion is retained, and the author^s deviations
from the truth of chronology, under each feparatelyi
refer ved for the fubfequent chapters.

In exploring the fcMirce of meafured time, and the
dates of fixed periods, prior to the era of anthentic
hiftbry among the Gentiles, great expefiatidns of
important difcoveries were entertained "frottr Sir Ifaac
Newton's Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms amended i
(a work, which every where indicates ^ fuperiority of
genius, 'though genius fettered with prejudices in favour
9f pre-eftabliihed fyflem^) ; but the author's hopes^
fanguine as they were, ended in the vex3i;ionr.o£. dif;*
appointment. That prodigy of .genius, not fufpQQing
fallibility in the decifions of a- Metropolitan, wboffi
chronological arrangements had obtained the fanflion
of general belief, implicitly adopted his fundiamental
pHnciples, and, like his author, errs with much inge-
nuity. The great imperfeflion of Sir Ifaac Newton's
lafi, and not' moft fciiehtifical perfof mande, is not ' 6x«.
tending his line of inveftigation heyond the (}?y3 of
Eli, Had he difcovered the true fource of hiftorical
time, the learned world would have been indebted to his
ftgacity for an improved edition of the Sacred ChruAO*
logy fjfom Adam to the Greek Olympiad. - - •

CHAP.

I 14 }

C H A P. II.

Firfi Age of the World.

. Chronology of the Pentateuch. Events and Dateu

A.M.J.P-B.C. • A.M. J.P.B.C4

Annals •* o 709 Arrangements t 705

Creation - z 7x0 4004* x 706 40o9

Deluge ends 1656 4365 ^349 1657 1361 %zs^

A SCHEME of the primeval week, according to both-
computations, is thus exhibited :

Annals. O^ober. Arrangements. 0<*lober* '

jDiays of the week i 13 B. Days of the week x aa in. •

% «4 m. % 21 U .

6 in ^ 3 25 t. 3 24 ^«

4 a6 w. e in ^ O 4 25 tb«

5 »7 th» ^ a6 f.

6 a8 f. 6 27 f.
Ood blffTed and 7 29 f. fandified the viith day 7 28 G.

By this fcheme it is evident, that the very refpcQable
author,, conformably to the general opinion of the

•••the'Primate'e confufion of* terms is here exemplified.
A. M. 1 is placed in coincidence with the 4004th before thr
Ciniftan era. He means the vulgar computation • wherca«
A. M.- 4004 18 in truth the hiftorical year of Chrift's birth ^
liiKl (he 4th before, (but not including), the common term
A. 1). X . which laft is coincident with the number of the Julian
]?eriod47l4*

. . - J age

Chronology of the Pen:tax£uc»*v i^

age ia \trhich he wrote, fuppofed, that Saturday w^ts the^
Viith day of theprimeyal, and of all the fub^Gjqyept .\v^sW
from the creation; and that the change from th^
feventh to the firft day of the week, firft tooLplac^Croni.
the day on which Chrift rofe from the dead, Mifled,
by this problematical hypothefis, the very learned: Me-
tropolitan, chofe for the fouree of his calculations tha
number of the Julian period 710, which was not thc(
firft, but the fifth from the origin of tilings. By the
fcheme of the Annals Saturday, the 29ih 0<Sober, waj^
the day^ which the Creator blefled and confecrated, ia
hs periodical returns,- for reft and devotion. But va^
the propofed Arrangements, which, agreeably ,to tb^
facred chronology^ afiign to the creation an earlier date bj^
four years, Sunday, the 28th 06lober| was the ievemli^
of the primeval week, and its repetitions werc^ a|bretv€^
by the patriarchs, from Adam to Mofes, as the weekly.
Sabbath. At the Exodus the day of holy reft wat
transferred from the feventh of the patriarchal, to tho
firft of the Mofaical, week ; and at the refurrei^ion of
Chrift the firft of the Jewifti and Chriftian week, wasg^
and ftill continues, aitronomically coincident, in thcf
notation of weeks, with the primeval Sabbath*

T^£ proofs which eftablifh this conclufion cannot
be fpecified, much lefs fet forth at large^, in this brief
Analyfis. Suflfice it to obferve, i. That in thff year
before, (but not including), the firft of the Chriftiart
era, 4.008, the autumnal equinox fell within the lizoit^
of the 25th 0(Sober. 2. That the two great iuminariet
yrere fet in the firmament of heaven 'on the fourth iA^

t6 ChKOKOLOCY of the pENTATEUCtt,

of the creation week. According to the arran(i^*
ICENT8, the moon was full, and the fun in Libra, otf
Thurfday the a5th of Oftober in that week. But ill
the AMNALS the 25th Oflober was Tuefday, the third
of the week *. 3. If the calculation be franifed on the
principle of Aftronomical, (not Julian years), and con*
fequently on the hypothefis of flatiohary equinoxes ; — =•'
if likewife this calailution be continued progreflively to
A.D* I7gfi — the 28th OftobcT fell on a Sunday, the fc-
tenth of the patriarchal, but the firfl both of the Jewifh^*
and the Chrtfiian wcekt. Thus is the uniform rotation*
Af weeks afcertained duritig the japfe of 58 centuries^-
now paft* Should it be the will of the Almighty tc^
Continue the planetary revolutions 58 centuries morej
Sunday will again fall oh the 28th 06l6ber, in the?
jrcar of the world 11,600. With the fundamental'
principle of the an n als, this uniform, and invariable^
fcries of weeks is incompatible.

The Mofaical chronology is conflruftcd dn the ge^
nealogy of the patriarchs ; the agfe of each father at the
birth of each fpecified fon, refpeftively, being exaftly
defined, the fum of the intervals between the feveral
defcents, independently on the duration of particular
fives, conftitutes the raeafure of the diftinfl periods
from the creation to the deluge ; thence to the fojourn-^
irfg of Abraham ; and thence to the Exodus.

In the firft and fecond of thefc periods each fpecified

year of procreation is counted from and to the auiumnal

♦■

. * See the Scheme.

» f Confult the Almanacks for that year.

equinox.

'#'

, ..Oek.es IS. . 17

equinox. For example^ .<<. Ad^ lived 130 years, and
begat Seth." The 130th of the father's life is con*
tinued to the fubfequent ai^Mmnal equinox, and from
that cardinal point is computed the firit year of the Soou
This is the general rule« Otberwife the fame year
would be twice rounted.

This firfl age of the world comprehends 1657 ^^*
p^n^ed years, ending with the fix hundredth and firft
year of Noah's lifts.

Stages if the Boodfor aflronmiical Siik^ according to the
Hebrew and Reman Calendars.

In the firft furies of columns are exprefied the num«
Ibers, iiames, and days, of. the patriarchal months. On
the lame line, in the f<^cond feries, are marked the ,
names and days of the Roman months ; and the column
on the margin to the right exhibits the alphabetical
fignatures for the days of the primitive week, the
Sabbaths being chara£leriled by capitals. The numbers
in the column to the left, denote the days of th^

flood.

/

A. M. iSsS' J IX M. Tifri oc ta. %% M.

I %A t.

1656. viiible. Olniffejj^ i 95 w.

% 26 th.

3 a? f.

4 %% f.

5 d9 A.

Yet fcvcn days, and I will 7 II Marchcf- 7 »^ n- a

caufc it to rain - S van V^ ^^^' ^ ^•

', % After fevcn days, the wa- 7 - a

ffood . i '2r xo A.

tercofthenood

40

i8 Chronology rf the Pentateuch.

40 1657. The flood was 40 7 „y ^.r.^ ^^ •_ ,^ .^
daya ttpoa the earth i ™ ^^"^ *^ J*"' " "**

1 50 The waters prevailed i »o 7 yn * . •.
days - • ^J'*-^* ^"*"

X51 Thcarkrefted

22i Mountain top feen X Tanniz

a; 2 After feten days a dove

^79 Ailerfevendays the dove!
a fecond time • j

319 ThearkuncoveredOiQ^ I Tifri

■

That ineflimable monument of aftronomical anti-
quity, Noah's journal, fpecifies feveral chronological
chara£ten, which define the number and quantity of
the patriarchal months, and explain the mechanifm of
the Hebrew year, in its primitive form. Hence the
author of thefe papers conilruded a table in expanded
days. In the preceding fcheme, thofe only which arc
hifloiically mentioned, fubfequent to the firft week, it
was judged proper to infert*

x6

May S t.

■7

9 w.

I

July '%% G.

•

II

Sej^t. X A

«9

If.

a6

tjf.

S

%% f.

•

X

Oa. as th.

VI

Dec. ao th.

CHAP.

G E N E S IS^ 19

• ^^

C H A P. III.

Second A^e of the World.

TT E R E a new term of Computation begins with
^ -■' unity. " Arphaxad was born two years after
the Flood." The author of the Annals, reckoning
the firft year of the new world to have begun with the
firft day of the firft month, when Noah removed the
covering of the ark, connefts the birth of Arphaxad
with A. M. 1658. But as Noah evacuated the ark in
the 6oift year of his life, which ran parallel with 1657,
this year is evidently chara6leri(ed by the facred hifiorian
as the laft of the old world ; and hence, exclufivelyy
muft the new computation proceed. Arphaxad was
therefore bom during the currency of 1659, and front
the fubfequent year is his age of 438 years counted*
This anticipation abridges the chronology of this and
the fucceeding periods. But other dates, in this fe£lion
of the AnnalS) are much more except ionable*

Time of the Difperjlon.

The date of Peleg's birth, in whofc days the
earth was divided, coincides with the firft year of
the fecond century after the deluge. At the time
of his birth, Jofephus fays, the difperfion of the
nations to their feveral countries did happen *• But as
the world was not then fufHciently populous, this in->
terpretation of the facred hiftorian's words, <^ In his
daysy^ is unnatural. The phrafe is firi6ily proper if

• Ant 1; 6. 4*

C 2 under*

4o ChUONOLOGY of thf PiNTATfeUCH.

underltood to intimate, that the dirperfion took place in
his life-time.

Usher, Bedford, anci Bryant, conjefture that
Noah divided the lands among his fons, about the time
of Peleg^s bbrtb^ and before tb& general difperfion. But
pure cpnje£lure,, without the colour of hifiorical ^vU
dcnce, is pot to be admitted.

The arduous attempt at Babel, the extent of that
flruAurcy .as defcribed 1^ the ancients, and the ftill
perceptit^e vefii^es of its ruins, indicate «| iUge of
population* and of progrefs in arts, incongruous wif b
the hypotfaefis, that the ent^rprife was defeated fo-earJy:
as (he iapfe of the firfl century .^rom the flood* f^very^
circumfiance in the ftate of the world, taken la cpn«
ne^ion with. the. concife reports of facred . bifipryy
adtpilts, ,oay rc[quire$9 the confufioii, of tongues, with
tjie qonfequent reparation from Babel, to be brought fo
low as ipo years before the birth of A})rabam. Sup-
ppfe the 277th year after the flood to be the true
date, Noah^ Shem, Arphaxad, Salah, £ber, Peleg,^
were then all living, and moft probably Japheth, Ham,
and Nimrod. During the interval thence to the fo*
jouhfrng of Abrdham, a period of 150 years, feveral
political eftablifhments might have been eredled, and
magtiifiG^nf cities b^lt, fo as to accord with the ad-*
vartced ftate of population, in tl>at age. Admit this ar-
/atigetlien<:, no necefhty occurs for having recourfe to
tUfe ejtaggetated chronologyof the Greek Pentateuch-.

On the other hand, if the Archbiihop's date of tlw
dlfperfioi] be judged preferable, * the romantic projeft at
babel was defeated alinoll as foon as begun ^ and no

I ftronger

Gen E B IS. ^i

flronger objedlon to the^ accuracy of Mofes as a chro-
nologer^and to his,yeracity gis a hifiorian» i$ fupppf-
able. But why ihould his reputation fuSer from the
unikilful pofitions of his commentators }

A BRIEF abftraabf c6rre3ed dates, in this period, is
fubjoined, with their chronological charaQers.

ANNALS.' Yrt of the W. J. P. B. C. ARRANGEMENTS. W. J. P. B. Q.

Termination of? j^,^ ^.x. ^.,^ , .

the flood - I *^^^ *^^^ *^*9 - ^(^S1 »36» *35l

Arphaxad born 1658 %i(i% .2346 - 1659 2364 254^

Thcdifperfion Y'^'' ' 1 19344039^74

Abrahain born 2008 %i\% 1996 • 2009 2714 1999

Terah dies - 2083 %Vil <9At - ftoa4 2789 2924

Sir W. Raleigh obferves, with much judgement and
^qual fpirit, " If we advifedly confider the ftate and toun-
tenance of the world, fatli as it was in Abraham^s time,
yea, before his birth, we fliill find, that it were very ill
done, by following opinion without the guide of reafon,
to pare the times over deeply between the flood and Abra-
ham, tecaufe, in cutting them too near the quick, the re-
'putation of the whole •ftoiy might perchance bleed*."
This pertinent remark is the refult of his determination
condertiitig the two queftionsi whether the time of Peleg*s
Krth were the true dafe of the difperfion, and the 70th of
Terah the year of Abrafeartfi's birth ? The refolution of
thefe enquiries affirmatively, is the true reafon why the
Septuagiiit chronology hath been fo gfencraHy preferred
to the riebrew, which, if fairly interpreted, removes every
pbjefitoh to the immbelrs of mankind, at both periods.

• Hift. p- 177.

C 3 CHAP.

aa Chronology «/" /A^.P«ntateuch»

CHAP. IV. ■
Third 4ge of the World.

I. Date of the Sojourning.

TH E Annals reprefcnt the removal of Abrahamt
firft from Ur, then from Syria, and his entrance
into Canaan, as the events of his 75th year. But the
hiftory requires a longer interval. In the intermediate
fiage he built a village, or town, afterward denomi-
nated a city, for the accommodation of his little colony*
This certainly was not the work of a few months.
It (eems he called it Haran, after the name of his' bror
ther, who had died in the land of his nativity. This
circumAance implies the profpe£l of a permanent re«-
fidence. By a divine fignal,^ or monition, there he
pitched his tent, and from the hiAory it does not appear^
that he entertained the thought of a fubfequent removal.
The primate, however, aflumes the poftulate, that th^p
patriarch left Chaldea with the explicit foreknowledge
of an inheritance in Paleftme j— that his progfefs wa^
interrupted by the indifpofition, and death of his father
at Haran; — and that he fet out thence for Canaan, the
place of his final dcAination, whither he arrived, before
thp expiration of one full year from the time he left bjs
country, his kindred, and his father's lioufe.

Every

G £• N E S I $• 23

Every daufe of this complex poflulate is contro-
vertible. At. the .command of Godt. the . pattriwcb
departed from Ur, into a land afterwards to be (hewn
to him. From thefe premifes an Apofile infers a con«
clufion, at variance- with the archbifiiop's pofition:
" By FAITH," joot by previous knowj-edce,
** Abraham, when he was called to go out unto ^,
place, which he ihould (^ter receive for an inheritance,
obeyed, and went out, not knowing whither he went.**

Abraham and Lot had gathered fubfiance, and
gotten fouls, in Haran. Their chief fubfiance was
cattle, which had increafed by procreation. Their
domeftics too had multiplied by birth, and by purchafe;
or, as the Chaldee paraphraft conjeflures, by profelytifm.
All thefe circumftances juftify the fuppofition, that
Abraham confidered Syria as the place of his ultimate
deftiqation, and that his abode there was protradled be*
yond the fpace of a few months.

Much more probable is the opinion of Petau and
Shupkford, who fuppofe, that Abraham, with his at-
tendants, was warned to retreat from Ur in his 70th
year ; that he refided in Haran five years, and entered
Canaan at the Age of 76. Of this laft date we have
the utmoft certainty. For after Abraham had dwelt
ten years in the land of Canaan, and ^yhen he Was four-
fcore and fix .years old,' Hagar bare Ifhmael. This
riotatiop' ferves for a proof, that the fojourning ill
Canaan and £g}'pt was adopted a^ a new term of com-
putation. It is carefully to be noted, that the antici-
ption of one year in this place, and of another at the

C 4 time

^4. Chronology rf the Pentateuch.

tvttit of Arphaxad's birth, unavoidably antedates the
Exodus, ' the ifoandation of the temple, and all the in«
tenne^iate dvents, by two years,

i. Age of IJhmkel when caft oaU

UsH£il, addpting impKcitly the opinion of -Sf. Je-
rome, that tfliniael was 18 years old when ejeded,
1;<rith his mother, froni Abraham's family, perplexes thq
chronotbgy and hiftory of the fojourning in Cai>aan
and Egypt. His age, at' the birth of Ifaac, was 14

years*.

' ■ •■•■>..

3- Age if IfaHc At the Death (f Sarah.

The Primate* mifled by the Authority of Jofephoit,
again deviates from the Mofaical chronology, by re-
ferring the tranfaflions on Moriah \ to the a5th of
Ifaac's age. He was born in the 90th of his Mother's
life. She died at the age of 127. Both hiftorians
(Mbfes arid Jolephus) conneft the return of Abraham
and Ifaac ' from the altar, with the time of Sarah's
death. Jofephus, in particular, emphatically remarks,
** Sarah die<f after a fliort interval ;** whence it is rea-
fonably inferred, that Ifaac*s age was then 37. By a
flecifive notation of time, in both the hiftorians, this
arrangement is authenticated ; << Ifaac was 40 year^
old when he took Rebecca to wife." Mofes adds ari-
faiher circumftance, ftill more determinate ; ** Ifaac
brotight her [Rebecca] into fiis mother Sarah's tent,

» ♦ Compare Gen.xtit |6. with eh. nvii. 24. and with ch. xxi. 5,
t Ant. I. 13. 1. J Gen. xxii.

and

andwas comfofted after his mother's death*'^ Byre*
taining a. pious remembrance of an etideaied pitfen^
not without a mixture of gHef, during the fpace.'ctf
three years, Ifaac exhiUted ail amiable, ^pecimeh: of
filial regard. But the fuppofidcm^ thai fuch gfkf was
prolonged 15 full yeant Tiolater/probabiiity.: / ^

<< On the day that Ifaac was weaned Abrihrn rcaab
a great feaft ; and Sarah faw the fon of Hagar mocking«
Wherefore (he faid unto Abraham^ caft put this bo^->
woman and her fon« — Abraham fent hdr and the child
away.*' By what rule of interpretation is thit jwean^
ing feaft deferred to the fourth of Ifaac*s life, ffliid ibt
expulfion of Iflimael to his i8th year? From no cfaa^
ra^r of time, expreifed in the hiAory, does it feeni
probable, that thefe incidents were f^bfe^ei^t to^l(h(
firft yeat of Ifaac*s age. Jofephus very properly obfervei
this connexion. ^VWhen Sarah had born Ifaac, (he
was unwilling that Ifhmael fhould be brought tip with
him, and perfuaded Abraham to fend him and his mo-
ther to a diftant country *.**

But to reconcile the whole pertod of fbjouming»
430, with the 400, (that part of it mentioned Gem
?^v« ^3') Bedford, Kennedy, and others, date the
commencement of the lefs number fron^ the fifth of
Ifaac, with which they connefl: the weaning feaft,
(exaftly 400 years before the Exodus J. For want of
hillorical evidence, this poftulate, as at variance with
probability, has, J)^en rejefled. From the fame term,
|he fifth of Ifaac, are computed the 4«o years o£

•' Ant. L j%. 3.

afflidion>

26 Chronology ^ /A/ Pentateuch.

affliction^, and the mocking of Ifaac by Ifiimael is
fjpecificdy by Uflier, Bedford, Kennedy, &c» as the
firft afi of perfecution. This glofs is, in all its parts»
equivocal, and inappofite. For, the text to which
they fefer implies, that Abraham's feed (houid fcgoum
in a land, not their own, 400 years. It is not affirmed
that they (hould, all that time,* be in bondage and af*
fli6ti6n. Ifaac, the father of that feed, could not be
a ftrahger, in a land not his own, before his birth, ia
the a5th year from the entrance of Abraham into Ca-
naan. Hence to the egrefs the interval is 405. In
the prophecy the round number is exprefled, and the
odd years omitted. It was not neceflary that the fum
fiiould have been defined with more precifion. This
fohition by St. Auftin the Primate mentions without ap-
probation. But it is much lefs exceptionable fhan the
hyixHhefis, that Sarah, from the age of ninety, fuckied
Ifaac five years.

4* Genealogies from yacob,

Ik this, as in the fubfequent ages, the Annuls exem-
plify jnany inftances of their author's negligence,
want of fkill, and fallacious conclufionsj in the article
of genealogy. Thofe beyojid the limits of this period
are referved for their proper dates.

From the birth of Jacob, progrcffively, the order
of fucceflfion is not fpecified by the years of the fathers
at the birth of their fons ; and henceforth the greatefl
prplexities, in adjufling hiftory to the courfe of nature,

f Ger, XV, 13.

occur.

' I

.Genesis^ ^ . " a j

occur. The Archbifliop rightly computes this patiiarcV^

marriage with Laban*s two daughters .from his^77lJti .

year ; and, from the fame term^ his 14 years of. ftir

jmlated fervice. The pedigree is cominued in the line

of Judah, his fourth fon by Leah, who qpi^ld not ^

bora befor<e the St ft year of his father. Th^ fafi)er'# .

age, when he flood before Pharaqh, was 13^; aii4

430 — 81 =49. This remainder is the age of Judab

in the fecond year of the famine. The. time of \xi$/^^^'^

marriage with ShuaJi of Canaan, though : in volvcid in ^ ^ ^"^"^

artful uncertainty by the fubtihy of chfonplogers, is de* ^/^ hao^

termined by infallible notations in the facred.biftory,y^*>'^t:*.'^

without the aid of imaginary tra^nfpofition^. . Ifi^,iv. i Z

The J3oth year of Jacob was the 39th of Jofej^
Jofeph's age, when fold into Egypt, was 1 79 and
Judah's 27. " At that time Judah went down froRi
his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamit^.*'
There ^nd then he took Shuah to be his wife, by whom*
at diilin£l births, he had two fons. Both in fucceffion^
and each, at the age of puberty, married the fame
woman ; hut both being fuddenly cut off by the hand
of heaven, died chiidlefs. Suppofe the elder brother to
"have married at the age of 16, and to have died before
the expiration of one year, the computation is brought
do wri to the 43d of Judah's life. After the deceale of the
younger, the widow mud have tarried a competent
time, before (he could reafonably fufpe£l Judah's in-
tention to retra£l his promife of his only remaining fon
for her third hufb^d* Sufpicion, at laft, growing up
into defpair, {he tried the arts pf guile, and fatally

fucceeded.

S8 Chronology rf tht Fi;ntat£uch,

fiKceeded* ^ Judah hegat Pbarez and Zariof Thamar."
Incongruous it is tp imagine, that thefe twins were
born' before tbe 4Stb year of Judah. Yet, in the
next year after^ Pharez, with his two fons Heznon and
HatnUlt accompanied- Jacob into Egypt. Here is a
phyfiiJBl htipoffibiitty ! Eafy it is to eftablifh the veracity
of tbe-facfed biftorian. But it is firft requifite to exi>
bibit the feeble> elufive, and contradlflory, argumentis
urged by the Metropolitan, for adjufting this feflion of
the hiftory to (be courie of nature.

In bis Treatifeof Sacred Chronology *, he afluthes
tbe poftelate, that Judah at the age of i6, in the year
of Jacob's return from Syria, married Shuah. This
fundamental pofition, as repugnant to the teftimony of
fcripture, which conne£ls the time of this marriage
with the year when Jofeph was fold into Eg)'pt, is
inadmifiible. He proceeds, ^ In tbe three fucoeffive
years, Judah became the father of as many fons, at the
•age of I9,'' (as by him computed). *' Er, the firft bonH
having entered his 15th year, married Thamar ; and.
Onan^ tbe fccond, at the fame age, efpoufed his
brother's widow the year after. At tbe expiration of
two years more, and ,15 before the defccnt into Egypt,
^ere bom the twin brothers, Phareis and Zara. Tbtis
about the beginning of that year which brought Jacob
with his family into Egypt, might Hezron be born, and
"before its tertnination, Hamul ; or, if they likewife were
'twins, the nativity of both may be referred to the end of
tbat year.** The- Moft Reverend Primate exprelTes bis

• - * • -

♦ PartL c. 10.

perfuafioix^

Gen A«is.^ i"^ df

jperfiniiotiytbattiooheAfticIeof this Arrangement, ^irlll
be &Htnd at vartanoe mth reafbn and natuie*' On the
contrary, the writer of thefe*fheets dechrea^* with greai
deference, his firm* belief that Pbarez, the' Csither of
Hezron and Hamul, was himfelf an infant, at the time
iof the migration fibm Canaan into S^y^*

How then is the veracity of Mofcs to be Vindicated t
tit is rq>1ied, that the regifter in the xlvith of Geiiefis
'has not,' in its genuine purity, been tranfmitted. In a
very remote age, but long after the days of Mofes, and
dill more recent than the date of the Greek Pentateuch,
in the Time of Pt. Philadelphus, certain critics, with
more good meaning than ftill, incapable of accounting
for the original form of that regifter, but finding the
. recorded names unequal to the whole fum, had recourfe
to the ratti expedient of fupplying the deficiency from
the later Hebrew pedigrees in the Books of The Num*-
bers and Chronicles : Nay, even from the interpolated
names in the Greek verfion.

The unavoidable brevity of this Analyfii fbitids a
tnimite enqmry into this fubje^l. Three very probable
>cpnfiderations are obvious and indubitable, i. Mofes
excluded from his Autograph the nanies of all the
females, except, for diftii^on,.thofe of a few motliers.
2. He inferted only thb name^ of taih mates as were
bom, and living at the time of this migration; 3. He
divided the regifter into three clafles, and 4efined the
number in each, that the deficiency of the males might
be filled up with an adequate nulnber of females*

By

JO Chuonolooy of the Pektatetjch.

By die firft rule, Dinah and Serah were omittec^
becaufe females, except mothers occafionaUy, had na
place or rank in the facred genealogies.

By the lecond, males not then bom were excluded*
Of this denomination were two of Reuben's four fons ;
for he had but two in the year of the def^ent, and
thefehe offered to his father, as hoflages for Benjamin *•
Nor were the fons of Levi then born ; for Gerfhomf
the eldeft of three, fignifiei, a Jlranger thtre^ which
name, if he were bom in Canaan, had no fignificance ;
but if foon after the arrival in Egypt, its fpecial
emphafis needs no commentary. Er and Onan were
omitted, for they died in Canaan, before the removal
theQce.

These are but a fpecimen of the many names, tranl^
ferred from regifters of a fubfcquent date.

As the birth of the patriarchs after Jacob is not
chara6lerized by the current years of their fathers lives,
the interval from the death of Jofeph to Mofes, who
was 80 years old at the Exodus, cannot, by the ufual
method, be afcertained. An expedient, however, oc«
curs. The whole period of fojouming is 430. Jofeph,
at the age of 110, died in the 285th from the arrival
of Abraham in Canaan. Add the age of Mofes at the
egrefs 285 + 80 2= 365 and 43Q — 365 = 65, the
interval required. Such is the ufe of fixed periods in
chrpiikology.

»

♦ Gen. xlii. 37.

Corrected

Gekesis.

31

Com&ei Dates, with the Chronological Numbers

from the 70th of Abraham.

Bef.
^NMAJ4* W. J. P. A. D.

Abram. &c. 7 «. ^^
leave IJr - 5*083^793 iS^i

Ber.

AXRANOJEMENTS. W. X* '

2079 ^7^4 1929

Depart from

r Remove from

A^cpazx irom ^ I R v

cifi m vanaan j ^ joiiming - J

Iflunael bom 2094 2804 19 10
lianc'bom - 2108 2818 1896
Retumsfromthe? o o

altar - J"33 ^^43 1871

Marries I^ebecca 2148 2858 1856

iacobbom - 2168 2878 1836
faniesLeah 7
and Rachel J"4S *955 i759

udah born 2249 2959 1755

ofeph bom , 2259 *9^9 *745

udah marries 2265 2275 1739 **

ofeph fold 2276 2986 1728 Judah marries

acob in Egypt 2298 3008 1706 Phafez born

acob dies • 2315 3025 1689

ofeph dies - 2369 3079 1635

Mofes born - 2433 3140 157 1

The Exodus « 25x3 3223 1491

^ >2o84 2789 1924

2085 2790 Z923

2095 2800 191J
2109 2814 1099

2x46 2851 1862

2149 2854 1859
2169 2874 1839

2246 2951 1762

^

2250 2955 1758
2260 2965 174S

2277 2982 1731
2299 3004 1709
2316 3021 1692
*370 3075 1630

^435 3140 1573
25x5 3220 1493

This fcheme exhibits but a few of the miflakes in
the Annals for this period ; fome are the refult of the
author's afFumed term for the fource of computation ;
others of deviation from hillorical order; and all
the dates of events from the creation to the releafe
out of Egypt, charaflerifed by fallacious numbers. Bed-

•

ford retains the Primate's computation for the year of
the Exodus, with rdfpeft to the then age of the world.
Kennedy, ftill more at variance with precifion, con-
nedls it with A. M. 2512. All the three computations
abridge the interval from the flood to the end of the
fojourning.

Wixa

jft Chronology rf iU Pintateuch*

yj\T^ this latter term began a new reckomng t^
weeks, months, and years ; the feventh day of the week,
and the feventh month of the year, as comited from the
creation, (that is, from the laft day of the primeval
week), having become refpe&ively the firft of the new
leries.

From Sar^day the 28th Odober, when the Almighcjr
refled from all his works, to Saturday the 27th April^
when the firft paflbver was folemnized in Egypt, tbt
'jntetmcdiate fpace, as defined by the facred hiftoriati^
is preclfely 2514 folar tropical years, and a6 weeks^
wanting one day ; for the week of the Exodus con*
fitted of but fix natural days. On the morning of the
feventh day, after midnight, all the bofis of the Lord
went out from Egypt. * That day, the weekly Sabbath
from the creation, being fignalized by the departure of
the twelve tribes, was tbencefprth, on all its fubiequent
returns, accounted the firft of the Mofaical week ; and
Saturday, the fixth by the patriarchal computation, ob-
ferved as the Sabbath of the Ifraelites.

In the year of the Exodus Abib, or Nifan, began on
Sunday, coincident with the 14th April, whence ^11 the
facred years of the Hebrews were computed, ac-
cording to the courfe of the moon. From the firft paf«
cbal new qioon to Pentecoft, the hiftorical trapfa£tions» *
with their dates in the Hebrew and Roman calendar^
for N. S,, are thus exhibited, in correfpondenit lines
and columns.

A, M.

Exodus*

33

A.M.

I

1515 ) XI M. Apdl

13 f. 6

Il'jUr

a

15 w. 4

I Abib I

14 F. 7

3 May

16 th. 5

%

15 m. I

'

4

17 f. 6

3 .

16 t. 2

3d Mof.

5 Sabbath

x8f. .7

4

17 w. 3

6

19 F. I

S

18 ch. 4

7

io m. 2

6

19 f. 5

8

ai t. 3

7 '

26 f. 6

9

22 >^. 4

8

ai F. 7

10

23 th. 5

9

12 m. J

■

II

24 f. 6

^.Lamb xo Confined

>3 t* *

4th Mof.

12 Sabbath .

25 f. 7

einT II

24 w. 3

13

26 F. I

12

45 th. 4

1

14

27 m. ft

13

26 f. 5

15

23 t. 3

PalToveir 14 O.XI. A.

27 f. 6

16

»9 W. 4

&}'5Esypt-

28 F. I

"

17
t8

30 th. r<

31 f. «

l4

29 m. 2

Quails

19 Jude

if. 7

^7 ,

30 t. 3

Manna fix

. 20

2 F.

• i% llLxf

•i w. 4

days in.

21

3 "*•

, . 19

2 th. 5

continua!

i 22

4 f-

^iT 1 " 't^' \

• 3 f. 6

fuccefHon23
24

5 V.

t"r J "«**"»*

4f- 7

^5
Ko Manna 26

7^. ^
8f. >

22

5F. I

27

9F.

^3

6 m. 2 '

1

28

16 m.

a4

I ^ 3

29

11 t.

25

8 w. 4

t

30

t2 w.

26

9 th. 5

III Sivari

I

13 th.

27

10 f. 6

4

2

14 r.

idMof. 28 SabbQCh

II f. 7

No Manna i , . . .

15 f*

29

w F. 1

Pentecoft

4 The Law

16 F.

30

i^ m. 2

promulgated*

^

II Jiaf I

14 t. 3

OBVIOUS is the cohftru£lion and the ures of this
table. It b to be noted, that the pafchal fiill moon was
fignalized by ah edipfe, when the angel of death flept
IForth to fniite the ferft bohi of man and beaft.

IThat Saturday was firft appointed to be kept holyi
as the national fabbath, by the Ifraelites, in all their
generations, and jii all their dwellings, at the time of
Hiiit firft paflbver, is certain, from the regulations con-
cerning the number and divifion of the weeks from the

D returns

3+ Chronology of the Pentateuch.

returns of that feflival to Pentecoft yearly. " Yc
(ball count from the morrow after the fabbath, from the
day that ye brought the (heaf of the wave*oflFering ;
feven fabbaths (hail be complete ; even unto the mor-
row after the fevcnth fabbath (hall ye number fifty
days ♦.*' The paflbver was invariably to be folem-
nized on the 14th day from the vi(ibility of the pafchat
moon» without regard to the day of the week on whic&
that full moon (hould fall^ by whatever name, or or*
dinal number, it might be diftinguifhcd. For inftaaxce^
if the moon (hould be full before Monday evening, the
pa(rover was to be kept that day at the prefcribed hour^
(between the two evenings). The 50 days were to he
counted from Saturday in that week^ being the national'
fabbath. The morrow after that fabbath was Sundayt
the firft of the 50 days. During the continuance of
that folemnity that day was to be fignalized by a fpecial
fervice, — the oblation of the firft fruits j — and by an
appropriate number ; — the firft day^of unleavened breads -
of which the ufe was flriftly pre{cribed to the end of that
week, SEVEN days. The morrow, therefore, aft^r
,the national fabbath, immediately fubfecpient . to the
i^paflbver, is virtually, if not in direfl terms, charac*
:terizied3 ?is ihp firft day of the Mofaical week* It.wa*
likewife the firft of every week to Pentecoft, the laft of
the 50 days, and the firft of the eighth week from the
offering of the firft fruits!. . This order and fervice were
obferved to the day wh?n our Lord rofe from the
dead, as the firft fruits of them that Qept, suid To, m

* Levit. mu. rv ^ to.

the

the very circdrh (lance of the time, h6 realized that typical
fervice. At the Exodus the primitive fabbath was not

defecrated, but changed ; and, at laft^ rcfumed its

• ».■-• ....

primeval ufe, with accumulated honours, being a me-
morial of the CREATION, and of a flill greater work,

REDEMPTION.

In the preceding table^ the change of the fabbath on
the day of the pafchal full moon is exemplified in rotation
through feven ot itft^ret-ums^ an<) the reality of that change
eftabliflied on th^ firm bafisof hiftorical truth, and aftrp-
pomical calculatroi?. The firfl national fabbath was
fan£{ified, as a feafon bqth of reft and devotion. Then
it was that the whole aflembly proclaimed the praifes of
their Almighty Deliverer in the triumphant hymn,
£xod. XV. Its 5th repetition was Cgnalized by "k flip-
ply of qiiail«» for prQvifiony ^pd t^ic p^xt two, by the
periodical ceffajtion of. manna. That, particular day, was
in like J^aijner. diftjpguiflved .durmg the fpace pf 4.0
years;..f<pr np^nn^. wiW pot, i totally withheld t}ll the
Sunday after the firft paflbver in Canaan j the ve;rjr
day on which it, was JBri^ yoychfafed.

. I

■ 1 "». . I ■ »■ ' • i

. "... /. V .

. it t t • ' . t , f t

•»• ♦ • -1 ■ • .1; .

» v.*. t .

p.!*,- ; .. C.«A?.

f

r 't ' trii-.i'-jl .«".•; I0 . '■ I . - M

s

36 Chronology tf the Pentateuch.

C H A P. V.

• • • 1 •'

l^wfth Age cf the World.

T^ u R I N G the 40. years, from the Exodus to the
•*^ paflage over Jordan, the Arrangements In the
ANNALS arc generally correal, fuch as refult from the
.erroneous combination of the orig'mal numbers .bei|)^
excepted.

Natural Term of Life after the Exodus.' ' - -. .

■ • . • * *

The Author fets out.wjth this.pofition, that from
the fecond year of this period, the natural term of {iu-
'man life was reduced to its prefent ulual fiandard, '^d or
80 years.

This poftulate merits a ftrifl fcriitiny, anlj, as "It
perplexes the facred genealogies, down to the time of
David, feems to require correflion. From the Exodus
to the birth of this prince is an interval of 406 years,
for five generations, of which the mean quantity
is 81.

It mud be admitted that the common interval of
defcents, as defined in ih6 times fubfequent to the de«
luge, ^as not uniform. From Arphaxad to Terah, ex*
clufively, ihe mean age of procreation was 31 years

. Exodus, 37

eight months nearly. In the generation before the
cxtraSion of the Meffiah from Abraham was made
known> propagation had a flower progrefs ; for from
Terah to Judah the mean ftandard was 93 ; and thence
to David 65).

Providence, it may reafonably be prefumed, had
important ends for appointing, comparatively,; few
hwnan progenitors to the promifed feed, in whom
bleflings, for all nations, were referved*. One natural
reafon is obvious. In the line of Terah by Abraham,
Ilaac, Jacob, and Judah, the pedigree is counted from
the younger fons, in numerous inftances. Nor is it im-
probable that the fathers of the particular tribe, whence
the MefTiah was intended to fpring, fliould have their
faith and patience long tried, by waiting for the ac*
complifiiment of the promife, as far as they, in par-
ticular, were concerned. Ifaac was born of a fuper*
annuated mother. Several examples nearly fimilar,
repeated in the feries of generations, might, when the
myftery was fully to be revealed^ produce a more eafy
and cordial belief c^f immenfe bleflings from the fon of
a virgin. It need not be fuppofed, that the mean age
of procreation, exemplified in the feven defcents from
Arphaxad to Terah, was, in the fubfequent ^ges, con-
liderably enlarged or anticipated. Had it been enlarged,
the cafe of Abraham's family would not have been
lingular. The fubjefl now under confideration is the
common term of natural life ; and it is tq be Qoted,
that,

I. The fentenceof being cut off in the wildernefs,
at the end of 40 years, was limited to the generation

D 3 brought

^ Chronology df the Pentateuch.

Rrofught out of Egypt, and of them, to fiicli" alone as
were 20 years old, x)r upwarf, at the timt? df that re-
feafe, and had likewife' murmured at the repbrt 6f the
cowardly and Tying fpies. To the gencratioh i^hith
fliould be born in the wildernefs, or in later titnes,
ihc tbrcatehing did "libt extend. -

• • •

2. Many inftanees- of great longevity otciir, In tfie
fnterval from the egrefs to Dkvid. Aaron, Mofts,
feeizar, Czflebi JoK^tia, bdonrg to the fornier jferidd.
Pbftiebte,' the fon of Elcaiar, wis certainly bom in
ihk wnderhefs, Tlie 'year before the pafla^eoV^dr
Jordan he fignafixed his zeal arid heroifrii in the plains
of Moat *. He was thcii '20 years old at Icaft. From
ttie chronology and hiftory of the tirties, it is pro1)abte,
tTiat 50 years after the entrance into Canaani he fuc-
cceded his father in the pontificate, which furiSion lie
difcharged 45 years. He therefore lived ii6 ycirs,
if not more.

Othni-ex, the Ton of Caleb^s brothfer,* was a tti-
litary general in the fixth year of Jofhua^s government,
Sind acdiiired rdnowh in the rediiftion of Debit f.
ftftdr 60 yeirs he 'Undertook the cbnddft of the war
agaitift Ciiflikn, which lafteid eight yfears. The lartd
had refl: if-o years, and *Othnid died. ~Hi$ age tntm
tTierefdYe halve ex-cefelled 1^8. '

'Gideon, tliat mighty itian of valour, maintained a
war of Teveri years a^iift Mldian, and after a gloribtts
Viflbry, which rfeftbred qiiittnefs to the country 40

*Nutn. XXV. 7. tJo^i^v. 17.

years»

E X-O D u 5. 39

years, died in a good old age. The pjirafeology x)f that
time jufli&s the jConcluGo^, that h^ lived one full
century.

, In the gpnjinually decreafing period of longevity,
J£U, a(K)ut 66 yeaf$ after» died by accident, at the agp
of 98} an old man ; yet nothing 1$^ faid of his having
exceeded the ordinary term of life. Samuel fucceedej
him in the pontificate. Thirty years was the age of
conrpcration, and be had miniilered in the vocation
of a fubordinate prieft, before he rofe to the prinjacy,
When his age was probably 36. His adminillFation, at
the inauguration of Saul, vtras a period of 36 years
more. . Jofephus reports that Saul furvived him only
^two years*. Every circumftance in the hiftory con-
firms this notation ; and more particularly Saul's con-
/pltation with the woman at £ndor. If Samuel's
death had not been a recent occurrence^ it is not fup-
.pofable, that the king would have defired an interview
with that prophet. All thefe chara£lers of time evince
ihat Samuel lived 1 10 ye«trs.

.Uncertain is the date of Jeffe's birth. He went
.for an o)d man in the dsiys of Saul, when his fon,
jp^iyidt .was bjjt a ilripling. In the 36th pf that refga,
vJPavid committed bis father and mother to the proteflipn
of the king of Moab ; and they moft probably were
Jivix^ at t;he death of. Saul. Hence it may be prefumed,
jhat Jeife's age filled up one complete century; and
that.bumsMi life was firft reduced to the term of 70

♦ .Ant. VI. 14. g.

D 4 or

40 Chronology of the Pentateuch.

or 80 years in the time of pavid. In the 33d of tbuj
reign, and at the age of 8o» Barzillai pronounced bini«
felf a very old man.

3. Relying on the certain truth of his pofiulate,
Uflier deduds 31 years from the government of Jofbua^
"which, with other mif-arrangemenis, to be fpecified in
their proper places, abbreviates the chronology from
•Mofes to Ot hniel . *

• 4. In the Treatife on the Sacred Chronology ♦, the
age of procreation afllgned to the three ancellors of
David, after Salmon, contradifls the term of natural
life, faid, in the annals, to have been fixed in the
year after the Exodus, to 70, or 80. There it is af-
fumed, that Boaz livdd 102, Obed arid Jcfle each ill,
before the birth of their refpedive fons. The interval
from the birth of Boaz to that of David is 324.
This fum divided by 3, quotes 108, for the cortimon
mcafure. But is it credible, in a period of the world
when very few mortals lived* more than '80 years, that
the fpace between three defcents, in immediate fuc-
ceflion, did exceed a century? To no purpofe is it
alleged, that a great many -examples of perfons, who
lived from 130 to 150 years, from the days of Vefpa-
fian to Thomas Parr, are recorded in hiftory. Thefe
examples the Primate'has been at great pains to colleQ.
His conclufion is a paralogifm. The point to be proved
was, that three fathers, in lineal and continuous <Mx]er,
ip any period fince the time of David, begat fons at

♦ Fart I. c. \%*

the

the age of loa, or iii 4 . thkt is ao or 30 yean after
the ufualftud u^UnaatQ term of life. Serious reafoning
in fupport of a paradox is ridiculous.

.MucH-eaficr it is tocdemoliih a tottering, than ere£l
a firm and well proportioned fabric. The {cbeme. pf
fcripturfi chronology w>U d^riye'bpth.' firmneis axid pro*
portion f^om genealogy. (In. this dire3ory,ior compur
tation> two rules are carefully to be ohferved. The age
of procreation: niift. neither anticipate the courfe of na-
ture, nor be extended to the; utmofi term of life. The
.bmh of a fqn prior to the 14th of a father's life mayi its
not vouched by experience or hiftory, be confidered a,s
a phyfical improbability ; and in the facred genealogies
no example of procreation before 16 occurs, and none
ought to be admitted.

From. Abraham to David the generations are 14^
.<:ounting Solomon the firft of a new feries. . ,

When the long lives of the firft three patriarchs are
confidered, (175, 180, and 147), the birth of Ifaac in
the loodth of Abraham, of Jacob in the 60th of Ifaac,
and of Judah in the 8ifi of Jacob, are events in perfe£l
agreement with the courfe of nature. From the de-
fcent into Egypt, ivith which the birth of Pharez has
been conne6);ed, to the egrefs, the years are 215, and
the generations four, excluding Nahihon, whofe age at
the egrefs is fuppofed to have been 19. This number
taken from 215 leaves 196 for the four intermediate
generations, of which the mean quantity for each is
precifely 49. The ages of Levi, Jofeph, Kohath, and
Amram, were fcverally 137, lie, 133, and 137, and

the

4* Chronolocv Bf the Pentateuch.

tlie commoQ meafure x 29. Tbofe four were con^enpor
j;^ with PhaTiez, Hezroo, Aram, and Anuninadab. \t
involves no abfurdky to afi&rm, that 49 was the mean
ifttcTvai of ^stceatt) at a timty when the mean term
of li&'iras ia9«

£iU)M the bi;th of Nafafhon^ as above Aated, to thai
0f^^«lomon| are 475 years, -aioil Six generations, tfap
' cgniDon meaTore being 79. It has been, (hewn, that
ibe mean 4erm ^f life in this interval was 108, wbieh
fxeeeds the mean age of procisation by 29. In none
«f tbefe confutations is any -thing affirmed, at vatiance
^ich4fae4:ourJe of nature. . .

,7'HK focegoing arrangements proceed on the fup>-
|M>fition, that David was the Jaft in the firft feiie&jif
14 generations. But the £vangeliils woids may be
^iQQnfidered as placi^ig David at the top of the lecond
ieries, without enlarging the number of generations
, din that, lOr the fubrequent.divifion«
i ' This conje£lure /e^ on the authority of an io-
efpinod writer : <* Pharez begat Hezron, Hezron :b^at
tllam f*, Ram >begat Amfninadab, Amminadab begat
• 'jtlabflion, Nahfhon begat )Salmah^ and. Salmon be^
aBoaz ; Boaz begat Qbed, Obed begat Jefle, and }eSk
ibegat David ^l*. Salmop is here charaflerifed as the
jibn of Saimah^ and ^at^fon of ,Nah(hon. This ad-<
jditioamaLefi Jeife.tbe Jk4th from Abraham, and the loth
9from:Pbac8z. Jackfon, .in his Chronological Antiqiu-
iities, ^isflifi^gefied that .this variation of two iimilar

♦ rAffPfi , Mat. i. 3. . t Ruth iv. ^8— aa.

names

Exodus* 43

names denotes two different perfons. In his feconci
diflertatioaOn jthe State of the Printed Hebrew Text ♦,
Kennicott approycs the conje£ture, as ingenious, pro:;
. bable, and fati$fa3ory. This emendation, if it be one*
is mentioned not as abfolutely neceflary to afcertain the
genuine chronology of the Bible, and its conformity
with the comrfe of natrn^ ; but inertly as an expetiient
for weakening an objeSion, .otherwife not forcible t.

* p. 184. and 54J. . . -

f The reafons which juflify the Bxing of Nahfhon's birtk
to the 19th year before the Exodus, evince that he died after
Jofhna. Oeitain it is, that ibme elders, at leaft, who had feenall
flie great works of the Lord, (both in Egypt and at the Jordan),
did Ri5lua11y furvive Jolh'ua ; Eleazar, for inftance i and if
Nahfhon did not, it will be itnpofiible to find the plurality
implied in all. The fame reafons wbich dcmonftrate the im>-
"probabiKty, that the Rachkb, Mat. i, 5 was the fame Rahab
«<¥ho entertained the fpics, Jofli. ii. are fet forth at large in the
piflertation on the Hebrew Genealogies. If the name in both
.pafiages defcribe the fame perfon, ihe muft have .been 1^0 years
i)ld at the birtii of Bpaz.

Sir Ifaac Newton, finding a Jefhua who had fons in the
Tftinue of Zor6babcrfix)m<}haldea, confounds that Levite with
-the high prieft of Uiat^name. In the fame regifter he finds an
Ezhra, and a Nehemoh^ whom he affirms to have been livins^
^^oo years after.

Ckronohgf

( 44 )

. J

.t

> Chronology frotif the I^eath of Mofes to Saul.
CHAP. I. Joshua.

SipttnoTj Tears of Refl.

•T^HE unfucccfsful attempts of Uflier, Bedford^
• -*• Wbifton, &c, to fix the true era of fabbatidil
years and jabiles, induced Prideaux to pronounce tbofe
circulating periods both uncertain and ufelefs. Their
life in computation is obvious, and the term of compu-
tation defined, in the original inftitution, ** When ye
come int6 the land, &c. then (hall the land keep a
fabbath. Six years ihalt thou fow thy feed; and fix
years (halt thou prime thy vineyard, and gather in thy
.fruit ; but in the feventh year fhall be ^ fabbath of reft
unto the land ; a fabbath for the Lord : Thou (halt
neither fow thy field ; norprune thy vineyard */* Be*
fore the inhabitants were fubdued and the land divided,
Ifracl could neither fow nor reap, Ufher allows fix
years for the conqueft of the country, and appropriates
the feventh for its partition. But a fabbatical year
could not be obferved before fix had been employed in
fowing and reaping.

• Ler. xxv. 8—5.

The

'Joshua. 45

The fubjugation of the natives was the work of fivie
yearsi In the beginning of the fixth, Jofiiua and
Eleazar, with the fathers of the tribes, proceeded to
divide the iandi hy line and lot. Caleb, jmor to that
diilribution, claimed, in virtue of a grant from Mofes,
Hebron for his inheritjince. In the fecond year from
the Exodus Caleb's agd Was 40," and 85 in the 46(h^-
Thus is the date of the partition afcertained. At tlfe
time of the autumtial equinox in that year the tribes,
having acquired tteirfeveral poffeffions,. began to plow,
plant, and fow. The firft poflible year of reft b^an
at the fame cardinal point in> the '53d from the egrefs,
and the 13th froiD'thc paflage over Jordan, A. M«
2568.

*< Thou (halt number fevcn fabbaths of years unto
thee, feven times feven years $ and the fpace of the feven
fabbaths of years (hall be forty-nine years. . Then {bait
thou caufe the trumpet of jubile to found on the tenth
day of the feyenth month t.'* Here is the quantity of
a jubile defined ; the 50th year from the foregoing
jubile inclufively; or in a contmual feries from the
primary reft for the lajid. Thus is the term of computation
certain. Thefe circulating periods ferve as a regu-
lating meafure in the progrefs of computation inde-
finitely; and. with refpefl to the fiicred chrono-
logy, anfwer the fame end with the Julian period,
applied to the chronology of the world. For example.

The facred critics and expofitors agree tliat a jubile
chara£lerifed fome one year of our Lord's natural Life ;

* Jofh. xiv. 7— IX. t I-ev. xxv. Z, 9.

that

46 Chron'oj-ogy 9f the Judges*

that of tiis nativity, baptifoiy 6r crucifixion. Difirdrd-
ant, however, are their opinions. But .this tcft b
decifive.

From A. M. 2568, on the tenth day of the fevenlb
Hebrew month, according to the patijarcbal caletidaSf
continue the reckoning down 1470 y^ars, ^qual to aio
fcptenary combinations of years, or 30 jubiles ; the
operation terminates with th^ ninth of the fcventh
Hebrew month, A. M. 4038% That was the fowth of
John's miniflry,,the 34th of our .Lord's age, md-thi
very date of his baptifm. From Jordan he went ftrait-
^ay into the wildernefs, at the end of 40 days retefinwi
into Galilee, entered the fynagogue at Nazareth; on
the fabbath day, and read from the book of Kil^bf
. ^ The fpitit of the Lord God ; is upon me, becfrufe be
hath anointed me to preach the ac<;eptable year ojF. jthe
Lord*" Thus calculation agrees with the irifaiUhUe
teftknpny, both of prophecy, and fai^ry, in the con-
dufion, that our Lord beg^n hifi miniflFy on. the 30tfa
Jubile from the firft fabbatical year in Canaan.

Hence it is evident, that the Primate's. iarcaogf-
. ment mifplaces the^root of computatkm by jubrks, ooq-
founds the firit -year of John's mmiftry with.. that ^^f
Chrill's baptifra, and contrary to every notatiQn:«at itfie
gofpel hiftory, defers his entrance on the pipphetscal
fun£lioQ| three years beyond its true date.

«

JLength of Jojhua^s Govirnmtnt.

Bt.ttecottiputation: of Jofephus the adrftiniftration
of Jolhua is compreffed within the narrow limits of 25

1 . years J

- Joshua. 4|

years ; Lightfoot admits but 17 $ Uflier no^more than
nine. H« died at the age. o£.lio. If tbe>VNNAi.s
give the proper notation, he was 61 years old in the
year of the egrefs*. ^ In (bat ye^MT he is denominated a
young man ♦.

At the age.of 30 the expreffion j^tirig is ufual ; but
youth is at variance with threefcore. Suppole Jo(hua
1h his 30th year difcAiAfitfeU Aiiialek. Add 9b^ thefum
1s ilo. By tht^ retkohing he jtidged Ifrael 4b years.
'In tfie j'eir of ithe pittitfon he was old «rd<ftr!ckcn fti
years, his age beiirg 76. •* Very mubh tand th^n re*
fnaitted to be poflfetted** +; Thetruth.is, that no part
of it had be^A dividbd by lot. To Calebs the ttibcs i}f
Reuben, Gad, knd the hadf tribe of Mahafleh, their
pdirei&Ohs, bad bttn affigned by Mofes. ** It c»mi^lo
pafs a long timeaftisr thfr' Lord had -given reft itofo
IfiiEtel from ail his enemies rotmd about, %at Tolhtiar
Ivaxed old,** &c. :J:. If Joflbua died thtee years- aftfef
the partition, the phrafe, a long time after ^ is egregi-
oufly inlfapplicd, but e^tilsmtely proper, if he died affer
the lapfe of 34. ydar's. With thefe charaQers of tithe
every cifciimftaiice in the hiftory accords. But the
Primate, Ending it ittij^raaicable to conipi'ife the years
' <jf C5pprfeffi6n and x'eft, Witliin a I'eafonabte eotnpaSs, Ko
as Ylbr to exceed the period of 480 yi^ars, foarid it ftfe-
ceffary to abbreviate the duration both of JofliiiaV and
Samuel's government.

• Bxod. xxxiii. II. tJofli* 3dii. I. J Cii. xxiii. u
:. ■.. CHAP.

48 Chronolocv cf tie Jvvctii

lA

C H A P. ir.

■ r

The Book of the Judgts.

THIS hiftoiy opens with a rccapUulatiQn of cc^
tain incidents more fully recorded in the Book
of Jofhua, and fills up the mter\'al from his death to
the commencement of Othniel's adminiftration, where
che proper fubje£l of this hiftory begins. This intei'*
val includes 10 years ; for the opprefBon under Culhan
began in the lad year of the firft century from the
Exodus ; and thefe 20 years are divided into two e^uai
portions. ^* During all th& days of the elders who fur-*
vived Jofliua, Ifrael fcrved the Lord. But after tbetn
arofe anothei: generation, who knew not the Lord^'*
&c. The enormities pra6lifed during thefe ten years
are concifely related from the 17 th chapter to the end
of the Book. The time is intimated by two chrono^
logical marks, the pontificate of Phinehas the fon of
Eleazar, and by the want of a king, or fuprjemq dvil
magiflrate in Ifrael. The period thus cbaraderifed
could be no other than the intermediate fpace of M
years from the death of Jofliua to Othniel *•

* The particular enormities which prevailed during the lit*
ter interval of 10 years were the introdu6iion of idolatry by
Micahy the tragical incident of the Levlte and his concubine^
the defedlion of the Danites, the maifacre of the Benjamites*
and of the inhabitants of Jabeih-Gilead, &c.

Fitoii

CiiittoNOLobif of the Judges. 4^

J'ledM the (kt6 of the war with Cufhan, to the In-
aiorg^Mraimi^^Saul) arr 296 years \ said the chronobg^
df the Annah extremiel^^ intricate. The arrangements
of Marfliam, and B'edfoi'dy come neareft to the truth
of hiftory ; but the refult is approximation only, which
always iTiiJ}life^ inajJerffeaion.

\% it praflicable, by the aid of internal characters p£^
tim6, to educe hiftorical order out of apparent conw-
fion ; and to elucidate what is dark in the chronology ?
\ From Othmerto the death of Gideon the years of
war are 53 ; and the wars are defcribed as in fuc-
ceflien. The years of reft are 200. But it is pre-
fumed, that fome parts of the country were involved
in the calamities of war, while others enjoyed tran-
quillity^

To Gideon fucceeded Abimelech, and after hiin
Tolah. They judged, wael 26 years. Under the go-
vernment of Jair, the fucceffor of Tolah, brake but
the war with Anamon, which lafted 18 years, and wa$
terminated by the valour of Jephtba, who fucceeded
Jair. To Jephtba the king of the children of Ammoa
ient meflengers, demanding the reftoration of certain
lands, once belonging to the kingdom of the Amorites*
Jephtba remonftrated, that Ifrael had been in the pof-
feflion of thofe lands 300 years ; that the right, efta*
bliflied by prefcription, was then unalterable, and the
claim for recovery too late. Confiding, th^t the fword
might enforce what negociation could not obtain, the
Ammonites hazarded a battle, and incurred a total

4efeat.

E To

50 Chronology of tBe Jvdgb%^

To the year of the entrance into Canaan» or Ar
41ft from the Exodus, add. 300: The computatioa
thence exclurively, is continued* to 342, which fcemft
to have been the fir (I of Jephtha's admimftration. To
this date an objeflion occurs. The fecond year from
the p adage over Jordan was prior to the divifion of the
country, and confequently to the pofleflion of thoie
lands by the IfraelLtes. It is replied, that Mofes, on cer-
tain conditions, had granted to the tribes of Reuben
and Gad, all the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amcv-
rites, with all the cities of Og, king of BaQian *; and
that they had received their inheritance before the ge-
neral partition f . The pofleflion of 300 years is thus*
evinced.

But farther ; the war of 1 8 years with Ammon^ it
by Jud. X. 7. comprehended in the 40 years war with
the Philiftines, under the joint adminiftration of Eli
and Samfon, while Jair and Jephtha condu£ted the war
with Ammon. Thus is eftabliflied a decifive evidence of
co-exiftent wars, and contemporary rulers, with local
jurifdi£lion : and this difcovery points out a juftifiable
and neceflary expedient for reducing the amplified ac-
counts of chronologers to the authentic notations of
the facied writers J.

Jephtha fubdued the Ammonites^ in the year from
the Exodus 342. This fum dedufi from the date of

* Num. xxxii. 3», 33. . t Jofh. xiii. 8,

J Long before Marfham, Fetavius fuggcfted the fcheme o£
coincident wars, and contemporary magiftrates, between the
times of Abinielcck and Saul, but the hypotheik of neither ia
framed with chronological precifioa»

Sa^rs

GftftowococV ^ the Jvt^ts. 51

SauP^'inmguriition'396, the difTerence is 54, ' including.
18 yeaiii^vof Eli's govemmfent, and 36 of Saniuel's :-
i8'4^ 36 i=: 54^; :

i^ In the Annals, the PhHiftine war of 40 years terbii^
nates 00 f)rears after the dealH of Eli, with the fecond
battle flit :Ebcnezef. It certainly ended with the firft
battle, there:.' fought, for* prior to the fecond, Samuel
had officiated as fuprem^ magiilrate and high pricfl:*
OO years*' But the Primate, by coimeiSling thcyCar
fubfequent to this battle with the confecration of 3^ul,
entirely excludes Samuel from the regifter of the priefts
and judges. * The fources^ of this miftake are obvious
from th^ fprfa^e of the hiftory. A minute refutation
would here require a fuperfluous expence of argu-
inents.

It is not howe^^l^j^gggofite to reftify an erroneous
number in the Greek Teftament, relative to this fub-

jeft. ** When he had deilroyed the fpven nations, he
divided their land unto them by lot. And after that he
gave unto them judges by the fpace of 450 years, until
Saimiel the prophet*.** The land was divided in the
46th year after the Exodus : And 396 — 46 =r 350,
which difference is the true interval from the partition
to the end of Samuel's miniilry. Ter ^ocko(tioij 400, had
inadvertently been fubflituted for, Tgiaxo(rioi, 300, in one
copy, and at lafl pervaded all.

Untextual and violent is the Primate's glofs in
fupport of ;^ this erroneous notation : ^< Much about 450
years after- the ^edion of the fathers^ and the time of

'^ Ad8» xiii. 19.

E ^ Ifaac*s

51 CHUOAOEoeir (f ih^ Jfuootft

Ifaac's birth, was the land divided."*^ The fkffionr •#
the fathers^ rightly dated from- the cdl of Abnlmii^
was about 520 years before this diyifioa; and of Ifaac*a
birth no mention occurs in the context. The oidef of
the apoftle's words, and the Urain of lus argnmenr,, re*
qiiire the computation to proceed in the defccnding ^
ries from the partition,, and by no means admit the r»»
«rograde order thence to the birth of I(aac»

The hifiory of Ruth is entirely omitted in the courfe
of the Annals ; but in the tra3 on Sacred Chronology*^
is, referred to the days of Ehud or Shamgar. Its true'
date is neceffary to determine the time of Obed's birth :
Afid every circumftance favours the fuppofition, that
Elimelcdh retired into the land of Moab, in the . time
of the famine, during the feven years war with' ]y&
diant. After ten years, Naomi, having heard diat Ae
Lord had vifited his people, in giving them head^ re-
turned, with Ruth, to Bethlehem.

Arrangement of the Chronology from theExodDS^jM^Saot*

Years after the Exodus A. M. 2515,
Mofes dies Joftiua fuccecds. *.. 41&

Jo(hua dies - • 40 - , ■ %^

No fupremc magiili-ate 20 IOq,

War with Cufhan - 8 loS

After Othniel's vi(Elory 40 reft over all Canaaa 14^*

War ^^-ith Eglon - 18 l6(5

After Ehud's viAdry, reft 60 over all Canaan - 226
Reft continues, fouth 20 War with Jabin/ north 24$
War with Midian, fouth 7 Reft after Barak's viftbry 25 j.

* F. i. c. i». + T«d. vL s*— II*

After

CHUON^'LOOy af the JUDGES.

S3

Aficr Gideon's viftory 40

3
JBIi judges iQ S. and W. 33
The Philiftine war begins i

4

I

S

' 7
I

£11 dies. The ark taken 4

Samuel fucozeds '^ i

4
8

Samuel judges all Ifrael i

— defeats the Philiftines 7

anoints Saul, and 1
abdicates the govern- > 16
xne^t ^ A

reft over all Canaan 2^3
Abimelech dies - 296
Tolahdies* - 5^9

Jair judges in'N. and E. 320

War with Ammon begins 324
Jair dies - - 34J
Jephtha fubdues Ammon 342

dies - 347

Ibzan die« • 33^.

£lon fucpeeds - 355

End of the Philifline war 360
Elon dies- - - 364
Abdon dies - 372

373
380

39^

A. M* ;29ix.

* Fixnn the firft year of Eli's govermnent, coincident with
thelaft :of To]^, both excluded^ to the death of Abdon, the
iatermedlate years, common to contemporary judges, are 54^
«quivalent to the fum retrenched in the Annals, from Jofhua^s
miniftry, and to the abridged fpace between the death of
€amfon a«d th£ accelfiofi of Satd.

E3

CHAP.

( 54 )

«

Chronology of the Kings.
CHAP. I-

Rules of Computation.

HERE begins a new era, not meafured by genera-
tions, as in the patriarchal ages ; neither by al«
tcmate periods of war and reft \ but by the reigns of
kings, in a regular feries. Few and obvious are the
rules of computation.

I. Moses ordained, that the years, from the Exodus
progreflivcly, (hould begin, about the time of the ver*
nal equinox, with the month Abib or Nifan, the term
whence the Hebrew feftivals were to be rq;ulated;
though he retained the primitive order of the months^
in buying, felling, and the other tranfa£lions of civil
life** From this month alfo were the reigns com*
puted. For if any king afcended the throne a few days
before the fame month, it was reckoned to him for a .
whole year ; and with the return of the fame month
began his fecond of the new reign t«

♦ Joftphus, Ant. I. 3. 3«

f D. Levi's Rites and Ceremonies of the Jews^ p. %%\ and
Sir I. Newton's Chronol. <;b. iv, p. 296.

Chuonology of the Kings. 55

The reigns in Judah were computed from this
fource ; Aough with refpeS to Hezekiah, Jofiah, and
their fucceflbrs, the Metropolitan contends, that their
years were computed from the vacancy of the throne.
His arguments are fallacious.

2. Reigns of a few days, or months, are included
in thofe before or after, agreeably to the exprefled no-
tations of time.

3. Partnership in royalty is never to be admit-
ted, except on the authority of the facred writers, for
one or more years. The laft year of Dand was not
comprehended in the firft of Solomon ; for though the
latter was anointed in the currency of that year, yet
was his acceffion not reckoned from the date of his
confecration, much lefs from the foregoing Nifan, as
in the Annals ; but from the firft month of the fubfe-
^uent, the 81 ft from the inauguration of Saiil *.

Asa reigned 41 years t. But he died in the 41ft if,
. -and the laft, as incomplete, was the firft of Jehoftiaphat,
though not fo marked in the Annals. Neither was the
40th of Jehoafh the firft of Amaziah, though the Pri-
mate, without the Jeaft colour of hiftorical ^evidence,
puts them in coincidence. In the like arbitrary man-
ner, is the firft of Hezekiah \\i^ in the 16th of Ahaz.
With refpeft to joint reigns of more than one year, the
rule is determinate.

4. If the years common to twofovereigns were full,
all belong to the fenior. If he died during the currency of

* I K. vi. 1. and % Chron. lii. a. f i K. xv. lo.

% % Chron. xvi, 13.

E 4 the

56 Chronology of the Kings.

the la&> that was accounted the firft of the fucceflor.
From notations abundantly decifive, certain U is, thai
Jehoram the fon of Jehofhaphat began to reign while
his father was king of Judah. The reign of the l6tk
had a two-fuld commencement : — One, two years be*
fore the other Jehoram afcended the throne of Samaria,
while Jehofhaphat was living ;-— another, after his de«-
ceafe, in the fifth of that other Jehoram* Thefe cfaa..
raflers of time are infallible \ though it is difficult to
reconcile all the terms of coincidence. Whatever was
the duration of the joint reign *, the 25th and laft of
the father, as incomplete, and that only, is reckoned
to the fon, by the firft rule.

*^ U z z I AH was a leper unto the day of his death, and
he dwelt in a feveral houfe ; and Jotham the king's fon
was over the houfe, judging the people of the landf*'*
In what year of his reign this malady was iqfiiOed, is
uncertain. The text denotes continuance of timet
An interval of fix years may, though with lefs cer^
tainty, be fuppofed. But the notations of time, in the
context, evince that the 52 years, afcribed to thp fa-
ther, were full, prior to th^ fole reign of the ion.

5. Ik thefe two reigns (for none other is to be ad*
mitted as common to two fovereigns), the genealogies
require, that the fpecified ages of Jehoram and "^Jotham
be computed from the firft commencement of their, zcr
fpedlive reigns ; and as the precife date of the conjunft
Sovereignty is, in neither cafe, defined, a fuffipeot

* Four years fecQ^ tp be the moft proba)>le quantity^

t a K. XV, 5.

wmber

Chrouology cf)the Kings. 57

number of intermediate years may be aflumed, for ad-
jufting chronology to the courfe of nature.

6. In fome cafes the reign of a minor is dated from
the vacancy of the throne, as in the; inilance of Jeho-
afli, the fon of Ahaziah, king^of Judah*;— in others,
and particularly in that of Uzziah, from the legal age
of 1 6. But in both cafes a regency muft be fuppofed.
Jofiah's age at his acceffion was 18 (not 8, as in all the
copies). For this reafon a regency is excluded.

* Concerning the father of Jehoafh, the fucceflbr of Atha-
lia, various are the fentiments of critics and expofitors. He
is faid to have been the king's fon (a Chron. xxiii. ii.), which
defignatioB can belong to no other than Ahaziah, the prede-
ce0br of AthaHa, on the throne of Judah. Jehoflieba, wh^
concealed him in the temple, when the reft of the feed royaj
were cf uclly put to death> was the lifter of the fame Ahaziah
(a Chron. xxii. ii); andherliumane care of that belplefsin-
iant feems to afcertain propinquity of relation. That he was a
minor of fcven years old at his acceffion, is exprefsly afiSrmed
in parallel texts. Jehoiadah, the high prieft, was his pious
guardian, and regent of the kingdom, till the young prince
attained the legal age; By his counfel, example, and influencCt
was the royal pupil inftrudted in religious discipline, and ia
the arts of government. At the protradted age of 130, died
that venqrable man, as is fuppofed, in the a 7th year of this
reign. * Jehoafli foon after degenerated into a tyrant and ido-
later (a Chron. xxiv, 15— zo.) Here Jehoafllis diaraderifed
as the fon of Ahazialv; and> in % Kings, xii. 18, Jehoihapbat,
Jebor^QQ> and Ahazi|ih> km^s pf Judab, are his lineal ancefr

CHAP;

( 58 )

' C H A P. II.

Chronology of Saul's Reign.

Qa u L, when fet apart for the fovereignty, was a
^ choice young man, and a goodly ♦. « When he had
reigned two years over Ifracl, be chofe him 3,000 men,
whereof 2,000 were with Saul, in Michmafh, &c. and
1,000 with Jonathan, in Gibcah +/' Thefe notations
are at variance with the courfc of nature. The fon of
a choice young man, and a goodly, cannot be fuppofed
capable of conducing the military operations, afcribed*
in the context, to Jonathan. The Primate is not cen-
fured for overlooking a diflBcuIty which had efcaped the
penetration of all the critics and expofitors. Neither
the age of Saul at his acceflion, nor the length of his
reign, is mentioned in his hiflory. In the text (j Sam.
xiii. I.) both thefe notations were probably inferted*
But the original numbers feem now to be partly loft
and partly mutilated. Dr. Wall, in his note on the
place, fuggefis, that an old fcholiaft, cited by Bofs,
illed up the blank in the firft claufe by the number 30.
His reign was 40 years J. The ancient Hebrews ex-
prefled numbers, not by words at length, but by alphas

* I Sam. ix. %. t Ch. xiiL 2. % A6ts, xiii. 20.

betical

Chronology ^Saul*s Reign. 59

betical charafiers. In the firft claufe the numerical
. (ignatures were probably (K 7 31.) and thefe being
rfCcidentSklly oniittecli YEAR in the fingular number
only remained : In the fecond claufe may have flood
£) 40, which in tranfcribing was miftaken for
3 20 *. The whole verfe thus completed is, " Sau).
was 31 years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned 40 years over Ifrael.'* Wall adds, " Abp.
Ufcer, adhering flifly to the words, mangled as they
are, has veiy much difturbed his own chronology."

Of the text, as rendered in our public verfion, he
(the Primate) fays, ** It can have no fitter fenfe than
this ; that after the Philiflines were fubdued by Samuel,
one year had paffed when Saul began to reign, and that
then he reigned two years free from fubjedion to the
Philiftines t."

No fenfe can be lefs fit. ** For after the Philiftines
were fubdued, Samuel went from year to year in circuit
to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Ifrael
in all thofe places |.'* " When he grew old he made
his fons judges over Ifrael, who turned afide after Iu«
ere, took bribes and perverted judgement §." They

muft have been fome time in office, and given flagrant

* So the text 1 Sam. xiii. x. wa8 probably read in the days
of Jpfephus, who circumfcribes SauPs reign within the cora-
pafs of up years, 18 during the life, and 2 after the death of
Samuel. But the notation io Adts, xiii. ao. is exadly con-
fbmiable with hiftory ; for David, bom in the i«th of Saul's
' reigp, fpcceeded him at th^ age of 30.

f Annals, A. M. 2909. % i Sam. yii. X3-'x6.

proofs

6o Chrokology qT Saul's Reich.

proofs of maladminiftnition, before the elders, deTpair*
ing of their reformation, prefented complaints to Sa«
muel, and requelled to have a king. On the whole,
much more probable it is, that Samuel judged Ifrael i6
years, than one only, after the fecond battle at Ebe*
nezer.

. The Metropolitan proceeds: << Shortly after Saul
was put from the kingdom again by the Philiftines, and
the Ifraelites again very much enthraUed ; which yoke,
being again (haken off, Saol is faid to have gotten the
kingdom ; that is, to have recovered it out of the Philif^
tines hands *• Now, that this thraldom continued many
years, appeanth by this, that, whereas it began eight
years before the birth of David, yet before it ended, Sa«
muel prophefied of his fucceeding Saul in the lung*
dom/' This train of furmifes merits ferious eonfidert-
tion.

1 . That Saul was, after a reign of two years, divdied
of the kingdom, is a poftuhte, which has every fem-
blance of a fi£lion. He is no where chara£brifed as a
dethroned fovereign, as a tributary prince, or, ^as a
prifoner taken in war. On the contrary, he is every
where reprefented as an independent monarch, ifloinqg
proclamations, by his own authority, levying forces, in
his own dominions; conducing them to the fidd of
l)attle, and at laft victorious, or defeated*

2. It does not appear^ that the war with the PhiliC.
tines, defcribed ch. xiii. and xiv. continued many years*
The hiftory has no notations of time^ no account of

* I Sam. xiv. 47.

armies

^ CjBtfi.oKroLOClYi^ Saul's R&igk^ 6t

Mnies in fiationaiy encampments, or continually Aiiit-'
if^ their fituations ; of frequent conflid^ productive o€
defeats »id vi3:ories» on both fides* Every circum«
fiance indicates the notion of one campaign.

3* Th£ text, ch. xiv. 47. does not neceflariiy im*
ply that Saul recwered the kingdom* The phrafe has
a-ietro(pe£l to the very commencement of his reign ^
idbich^/for many' years,, was profperous and briiliant.-
His vi3ories zxe^ in this text^ recapitulated: f^So Saul
took' the kingdom over Ifrael, and fought againft all
his. enemies on: every fidis, agaihft Moab^ Ammonv
Edom, the kings of Zobah*, the PhUiftkies^ and*-
whitherfoever he turned himfeif, he vexed them/^
Thefe (uccefsful want ai^ moft* probably recosded nearly^
in the order of time^^ and that with the PhilifiineSt-
lOEUJLed as prior to the^ fubfequent: confli£l with Ansalels^-

4» The prediSion, that the fceptre Ihould be traiiT*
ferred from Saul to David, refers to an advanced period
of Saul's reign^ but does not confirm the Archbifhop's
piofition, that the Philifiine war, in which Jonathan
exhibited all the abilities of an accomplHbed' general^
began fo early as the third year from his father's confer
cration.

The faft feems to be, that the hiftbrian*s Intfcnt was
t6'tranfmit a very concife account of this reign, in its

cfommencement and progrefs, while the ihdnarch per^^

I t ......

f ** In the days of Saul the R«ubenite« imade' i*ar wth the
Hagarenes, who fell by their hand, and they dwelt in their
tents." I Chr. v. 10. Thcfc conquefts arc otnittM 1 Sam.
xiT. 47.

8 fevere^l

6i Chrokology ^Saul's Reicw,-

ievered in his duty. It was his primary objeEt to
patiate on that period of bis admiuiftration, which:
exemplified fuch inftances of mifconduS, as jufiify^ to-
every fucceeding age, the equity of Providence^ in re^
moving Saul's family from the throne.

These remarks fugged the expediency of having
r^courfe to a tranfpofition in the order of biftorical oc-
currences, that chronology may be brought into ccn*'
cord with the courfe of nature.
' The propofed connexion is: << Saul was 31 yeait
old when he began to reign^ and he reigned 40 years
overlfrael*."

' ^ So Saul took the kingdom over Ifrael» and {oug^
againft all his enemies on every fidey againft Moab, and
againft the children of Ammon, and againft Edom^
and againft the kings of Zobah, and ?igainft the Pfai-
lifiines ; and whitherfoever he turned himfelf, he vexed
Acmt."

<< Saul chofe him 3,000 men of Ifrael, whereof
a,ooo were with Saul in Michmafh, and in Mount
Bethel i and 1,000 were with Jonathan, in Gibeah.of
Senjamin ; and the reft of the people he fent every
man to his tent J*'

^< And he gathered an hoft, and fmote the Amale-
kites, and delivered Ifrael out of the hands of them that
fpoiled them §."

** Now the fons of Saul were Jonathan and Ifhui,'*
&c. Of Saul's four fons Jonathan's name always

• 1 Sam, xiii., i. f Ch. xiv. 47.

X Ch. xiii. a, read forward to cht xiv. 4^. § Y. 47^ 4Z0

occurs

Chronology ^Sai^l's Reign. 63

occurs firft in the regifter;— a probable criterion of
primogeniture* Khbolheth, or Efhbaal, was 40 years
oM«l>*^tbe'tiiBe of the tragical overthrow on Giiboa.
Admit that Jonathan was a few years older : Yet nei-
ther age nor experience qualified him for the military
glory he is thought to have acquired in the third of
his father's reign, ^ut fuppofe the war, in which he
gathered fo many laarelsi b^n and ended, id tho
28th of that reign, the whole hiftory is confiftent with
itfelf, and chronology in exaft unifon with the coiirfe.
of nature. Thus is the perplexity, ^refulting from the
incoherent computation in the Annals, untwified. •

Dates correded, with the chronological chara6lers» ,

Years after the Exodus - 395 ". W. J. P. B. C.

Saul anointed - . 396 ^2911 3616 1097

Reigns profperoufly 27 years - 423 2938 3643 1070

Defeats the Philiftines by the"! ,^ , ^^ . ^ _ ^
heroifin of Jonathan - J "^^ '939 3644 1069

Subdues A^nalek - 425 2940 3645 .1968

David privately anointed - 426 2941 3646 1067
Saul and his fons flain in battle 436 2951 3656 1057

This divifion of Saul's reign, into parts, on the authority
of the facred writers, fufficiently difproves the notation of
Jfjfephus, who diminiihes its duration by one half. But it has
already been fUggefted, that the original text had, before his
time, been corrupted by an interchange of numerical figna-
tUres.

^x

A-

'^Cy,. /r. /.; ,. .r •> U yu^ - t^^l^^ -CHAP.

V ^ ^ /Sif. / ^ ' ?- ^ 3 v^

i"

( «4>l

111 umi I lit

CHAP. IIL
Cbranokgffrom the Death rfSdul to the Tem^^

T^AVId's reign in Hebron, over Judah and Beaja^
^^ min, commenced from the death of his prede*
ceflbr. After feven years and fix months, all the elden
x>f Ifrael came and anointed him king over all Ifnid
and Judah. His fubfequent reign in Jerufal^m wit
33 years, including the odd. fix monthi ; fo that the
interval from the death of Saul to that of I>a^-iin#
piecifely 40 years, computed from Abib.

Two inftances of anachronifm, during this reigiiy
occur in the Annals.

I. <^ It came to pafs after 40 years, that AMAbok
faid unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my
vow in Hebron *." No term whence the compuMltiOB
begins, is exprefled. The Primate reckons from the
confecration of David in the 30th of Saul. But tbat»
being a private deed, was not likely to be u fed at a
common term in reckoning. From the context it b
evident that the number 40 is by a mifbke put for 4^
Abfalom, after the murder of his brother Amnon, fled
to Gelhur, and dwelt there three years t. By the

* % Sam. vii. 154 -f z Sam. xiii. 38.

fecret

CrikoNOL6CY/r^*i the Death o/Savl^ ice. 6^

Tecrct influence of Joab was he recalled and lived two
full years in Jerufalem, but faw not the king's face *^
Having obtained accefs into the iroyal prefence, and a
gracious reception, he, by the arts of popularity, ftrength-
ened his intereft, prepared horfes^ chariots, and foot*
men ; and at the end of two years more requefted per-
midion to retire to Hebron, as above related. Jofe-
pbusi conformably to the Sacred Hif^ory^ dates this re-
queft from Abfalom*s return out of Gefliur to Jerufat-
lem +. Grotius adopts the corredion, and Kennicott
confirms it by the authority of the Syriac verfion of
SixtusV/s famous edition, and of certain excellent
MSS. of the Vulgate ; — all which read 4 not 40.

2. Solomon was anointed to the fucceflion, fix
months, as the Primate computes, before the deceafe of
JDavid : And the 40 full years, afligned to the reign
of the father^ he confiders as complete in the firfl
month before the fon was confecrated. From that firft
month is the new reign counted in the Annals^ a full
half year before the demife of the father.

Saul was anointed privately about the time of the
jpaffover, in the year from the Exodus 396. About
feven weeks after, in the time of wheat harvefl, Sa-
muel refigned his commiflion as fuprenie magiftrate*
Count forward 80 years for that and the fubfequeut
reign, the reckoning is continued to the firft month of
the year 476. Solomon might have been anointed fix
months before his father's death. But it was not the
ufage of the Hebrews to account the laft complete }'ear

• 2 Sam. xiv. a4. t Ant. vii. 9. i,

F of

66 Chkov o LOG f from the Death rf^SAVtf ftc^

of « fenior monarch the iirft of bis fucceflbr. Solo*
mon's fole reign began with Abib« 477 from «W
Exodus ; for in the fecond month, in the 480th year
after the children of Ifrael were come out of £gypff
and in the 4th of his reign, Solomon hid the founda^
tion of the boufe of the Lord *•

Jos^EPHUS difagrees not only with the canonical
records, concerning the length of the intenral firom
Adam, from the delage, iirom the arriral of Abrahani
in Canaan, and from the egrefs, to the foundation of
the temple ; but alfo with bintfelf, in difierent parts oi
his works ; even when the fame events and times aM
his fubje£l+. Strong was his predileflion in favoiuc
of an amplified chronology. In two chara£lers of the
time he confirms the authority of the facred Annals*
affirming that the work of the Temple was begun in
the fecond month of the ecclefiafiical Hebrew year^
and in the fourth of Solomon. That month he fur-
ther conne£ls with the Macedonian Artemifius ;. and
that year with the eleventh of Hiram, king of Tyre^
as in the fame paflage; or with the 12th, as in the
ip6th fedtion of his firil Book againft Apion.

* 1 K. vi. 1—57. t Ant. iii. 3- j..

Pfik

( 6? )

■ WM i JJI ^' ). 'P . ' U| m il \ mm*>mmmmmaitim^mmtimm

J^ift^ A^e of the Wofld. From the Foundation tQ
the Oifertbrow of tie Temple.

C H A P. I.

' Chronot^gy of Solomon* s Ri/gn.

HE K c E commences a new term of computation*
** It came to pafs, at the end of 26 years after
Solomon had built the two houfes, the houfe of the
Lord, and his own houfe, that Solomon gave to Hiram
twenty cities/' The 24th of his reign is thus charac-
terifed, as the 20th from the foundation of the Temple
cxclufively.

Three years having been fpent in providing mate-
rials for this great work, it viras finiflied in feven years^
in the 8th month of the nth year from the death of
David. That the dedication might derive folemnity
firom one of the national feflivals, it was deferred to,
the Feaft of Tabernacles in the fubfequent year. The
Primate aflign^ another reafon for this delay ;— that it
might coincide with the return of the ninth jubile.
But that year v^s not concurrent with the fource of
computation from the divifion of the land, and thefe
obfcrVances were totally neglefled from the confecra-
liop of Saul, to the days of Nehemiah*

68 Chronology tf/*Sor:OMON*s RErCK.^

After Solomon had employed thirteen years iiior#
in building his own houfe, he proceeded to raife nume-
,rou« and magnificent Aruftures about JenifalcHiy and* in
other parts of his dominions, twenty cities in Galilee^
Hazor, Megiddo> Tadmore, or Palmyra, in the wil-
dernefs^ cities of flore^ &c. : all which works o£ ufe
^nd" grandeur, jufiify the fuppofition, that he contintied
many years' in the pradice of thofe virtues which at*
traded the admiration both of his fubje£ls and of fo-*
reign princes. After he had finifhed all the flupendous
enterprifes recorded in hishiftory,he continued to frame
his life by the principles of piety and wifdom ;. for three
times a year he offered burnt ofTerings and peace offi^-
ings upon the altar which he had built *• This inti-
mation implies perfeverance during a feries of years^;
and it was not till after he was old, that his wives
turned away his heart after other gods +.

An accurate computation allows only 39 full years
for his reign. The 40th, as incomplete, is accounted
the firtt of Rehoboam. As a memorial of the fchifm,
which gave rife to the unhappy diflinftion bet'wcen the
Samaritans and Jews, the ancient Hebrews, who ad-
hered to the tribe of Judah, kept a yearly faft on the
23d day of the 3d month from the firft of Reho^
boam.

This faft, as to the year,, is with no lefs certainty^
authenticated, by Jeroboam's appointment of a feaft in
the eighth month, like unto the feaft of the feventh
month in Judah ^.

* I K. ix. 25. t Chap. xi. i— S. J i K. xii. y».

Abstract

CmiONOLOGY ofSoL^UCfVl^S Reign. 69

Abstract of the chronology from Saul to the apo-

ftacy of the ten tribes.

Years after the Exodus * - 435 W. J. P. B.-C/
JDavid begins to reign in Hebron 436 2951 3656 1057

* • in Jerufalem^43 2958 3663 1050

Uriah flain in battle ' - ^54 2969 3674 1039
fiolomonj)oin - 456 2971 3676 1037

^ZZtv' ^'1'^'°" "t"l 458 2973 3678 1035

Abfalom recalled - - 461 2976 3681 103a

Goes to Hebron, and rebels 46S 2980 3685 1028

Solomon anointed, David dies 47^^ 2991 3696 1017

Solomon's fole reign begins 47^2992 3697 1016

The Temple founded - 480 2995 3700 1013

Dedicated ^ .- 8 3003 ^708 ipoc

Rehoboam born - I 3004 3709 1004

Solomon dies, revolt of theT , o

ten tribes - - } 2630303735 998

The fubfequent years are not counted from the date
Off the Temple ; but from 9 prophetical period of 39b
y^ars, commencing with the firft of Rehoboam, A. M.
3031, and ending with the breaking up of the city, ia
t-he nth of ZedeJciah, 3421, If the -.36 years prior to
the acceffion of Rehoboam be comprehended in the
rieckoning, the whole dur^tio9 of the firft Temple '\%
4^6 years^

F3 CHAP.

( 70 )

C P A P- II.

Chronology from Solomon to Jthalia.

WITH the defe£lion of ten tribes from the houfe
of Davidy the fceptre of Rehoboam, and a pur^
worfliip, begins a new feries of contemporary and inde^
pendent kings. The two royal calendars^ being exa£l:
fcounterparts, augment the labour of comparing dates,
but hence computation acquires preciflon and certainty.
In Judah the reigns are longer than thofe in Samari^,
and, as fewer broken years occur, the regifter of thf?
former cjaims the preference, as a regulating mi^fure :
The years chara£lerifed as coincident do not always ruo
pjiirallel. Sufficient it is, that they touch in one com-
mon point. Sometime^ the fame year, making a part
of two reigns, is twice counted. To difcriminate fucb
notations is the province of critical flcill. In thispcr
^od the fum of the reigns in Jerufalem is 95, ar^ at
Samaria 9^. As Rehoboam and Jeroboam afcended
their refpefliye thrones at the fame time, fo Ahaziah
and Jehor^m perifhed together. The interval, there?-
fore, ought to be the fame by both calendars. To bring
them to an equation^ \t is previoufly requifite to exa?
mine, whether all the years in the Chronicles of the
lyings in Judah were full,

§ It

CHROT<;oxoGY/r^;» Solomok to Athalia. 7X

It bas already been noted, that the 41ft of Afa, and
<he 25th of Jehofliaphat, being incomplete, are feveralljr
accounted the firft of the fubfequent reigns. Thus is
jthe duration of the fix reigns in Judah redf!iced to 93.
The nine ia Samaria, tried by this flandard, may he
circumfcribed withsn the fame limits*

Analysis of the reigns from A. M. 3030, to 3123.

Judah.
Rehoboam
Abijah

17

3
I

2

3
26

*7

28

38

39
Jeho(haphat4i

%
19

Samaria.
Jeroboam 17 17

jNadab
Baal|>a
£lah

Zimri
Omri

Ahab

I

2

I

^

20 20

2T 21
22 22

24 46

47

I

2 48
12 58

a 59

4 61

5 62
22 79

Judah.
Jehoihaphat 20
Jehoram's7i 21
joint reign J £ 22 Joram

3 23

4 24
Sole reign J 25

2

3

4

5
6

7
Ahazi»^ %

Samaria.

Ahaz^ahi 80

2 8t

Joram i 82

.2 83

3 84

.485

5 86

^ 87

7 8it

^ 8 89

9 90

10 91

11 92

J[> 93 *

From the fchcme of co-exifient fovereigns it is ob-
yious, that the four years aligned to Nadab and £la
are comprehended in the reigns of Jeroboam, Baaflia^
and OmrL on the throne of Ifrael. The laft of Jero-
boam coincides with the firft of A(a, and the firft of
Omri with the ayth ; to that tlie intermediate years in
^the kingdom of Samaria are, by the numbers of re-
ference, reduced from 30 to 26. Ahab began to reign
in the 38th of Afa, which was the 12th of Omri, who
dying before its termination, the whole year is ac«^
i:o!Mnted the firft of Ahab.

• Abp. Ulhcr extends this period to 95.

^4

In

72 CiiRONOLOGyyrtf/« Solomon to Ath alia.

In eacii chronicle a few notations^ feemingly dif*
cordant, occur.

"In the 36th year of Afa, Baaflia came up againft
Judah *." But, " In th^ a6th of Afa, Elah the fan
of Baaflia began to reign over Ifrael +." Of this inva-
fion the true date was certainly the 26th of Afa ; for
Jofephus appofitely remarks, that Baaflia, after a re-
pulfc, returned immediately to his own country, and
being prevented by death, bad no leifure to meditate
expeditions againil Judah.

** In the 27th of Afa, Omri fet fire to Zimri*s pa-
lace, and burnt it oyer him, fo that he periflied in the
conflagration J." But Omri's reign is dated from the
31ft of Afa §. This apparent incongruity is obviated
in the context. The people was divided. One fa£lion
made Omri king, another declared in favour of Tib^i:
After a confli£l of four years Tibni died, and Omii
reigned.

** Ahaziah the fon ofAhaU began to reign over
Ifrael in the 17th of Jehofliaphat, king of Judah, and
reigned two years ||." From the hiftory it is probable
that Ahab, alarmed by the awful threatenings denounced
againft him on account of Nabal's murder, took his
fon Ahaziah into a parinerfliip in the fovereigrtty threp
years before his death, though thefe, conformably to the
ufual mode of computation, are incliided in his reign of
22 years. The true date of this conjunft reign is the
J 7th of Jehofliaphat, as above exprefled, and the twQ

* 2 Chr. xvi. I. f I K. xvi. 8,

;j: 1 K. ?tvi. 19. 5 Ver. 23. 1) i K. xxii. st>

yew

CMRONOLOGY/r^OT Solomon toAxHALiA. *j^

years of the fon*s fole reign arc counted from the de--
ceafe of the father.

** Jehoram, the fon of Ahab, king of Ifrael, began
to reign in the i8th of Jeholhaphat, king of Judah,
and reigned 12 years*/* This arrangement excludes
two years from the reign of Ahab with the two fubfe-
quent years of his immediate fucceflbry Ahaziah» and
extends the reign of this Jehoram to 16. But certain
it is, that prior to the accellion of Jehoram king of Sa-
maria, his brother Ahaziab confulted with Jehofliaphat^
concerning an e:{pedition to Ophir, in the interval
from the death of Ahab, Jehoram, therefore, was not
invefted with fovereignty fo early as the 1 8th of Jeho*
ihaphat, for in the 19th Ahab died. By fome incidental
miflake in tranfcribing this text, 18 is fubftituted for
7.2 ; and the error is repeated in the Septuagint, and
pther verfions.

The reign of Jehoram, the fon of Jehofhaphat, had
a double commencement ; the one in his father's life-
time, the other at the vacancy of the throne. For
Ahaziab, the fon pi Ahab, in Samaria, having died
without a fon,' was fucceeded by his brother Jehoram,
in the fecond year of Jehoram the fon of Jebofliaphat,
king of Judah f ; and, " in the fifth of Joram, the fon
of Ahab, Jehofhaphat being then king of Judah, beg^a
J)is fon Jehoram to yeign :}:."

• a K. iii. i. f a K, i, 17.

• 1 Ch. viii. 1 6.

Thise

74 CHROKOLOGY/r^Jfl SoLOMON /^ AtHALXA.

These two notations imply, that Jehoram began
twice to reign in Judah, while his father was living
and both arc accurate. In the 2ift of Jehofhapbat be*
gan the conjun£l reign ; fo that the 22d was the firft of
Joram in Samaria; and the fccond of Jehoram in Ju-
dah. Again, Jehofhaphat died during the currency of
his 25th year, which being incomplete, was accounted
the firft of his fon's fole reign, coincident with the
fifth of Joram in Samaria. At the beginning of this
year Jehofhaphat was living ; but his reign in full years
did not exceed 24. The refult of a minute fcnitiny
into the phrafeology of the fac red writers, is fufficient
to convince every intelligent and candid reader^ th^t
fome exprefTions, feemingly coi^tradi6lory, are ejtam^
pics of the ftrideil precifion.

Both the eleventh and twelfth of Joram in Ifrael are
affigxied for the one year of Ahaziah, the fon of Jeho-
ram in Judah ♦. Tbcfe d^tes exclude both perplexity
9nd error. In the lad year of his father's reign arMi
life, Ahaziah had been invefi^zd with royalty, ifts copait-
«ier in the government. But as the fenior fovereigti
lived to the end of that year, the fon*s accedion 19
computed from the I2th of Joram, king of Ifrael.

The age of Jehoram, king of Judah, when he be->
gan to reign, was 32 t. The fubfequent genealogies
require, that his reign be computed from the 21 ft of
his father inclufively. In the firft of his fole reign he
was 36 years old, and after a reign of eight years, he
died at the age of 44. His fon Ahaziah fucceeded hint

• » Kings, ix. 29. and viii. ts, f 1 Kings, viii. 17,

CKKOfioxoCY from SpjLOMON /^ Athalia, 75

» •

iBt the 9ge of 42 *• This egregious mlftake in the on*
ginal text, is, as Kennicott obferves, happily corredled in
an excellent MS> inppofed to be 8co years old, where
ihc number is 22, and in the Syriac and Arabic ver-
fions. This is likewife the reading in the editions of
the Septuagint, by Aldus, and by Wechelius, 1697.
But the ipoft decifive authority is that of the parallel
jHebrew text t, where all the copies, manuicript and
printed, with iill the verfions, i^xhibit the lefs number,
which feems to have been originally marked with the
pumeric^l letters 3 3, 22, and afterwards inadvertently
changed into ^ Q, 42, in one copy of the text in the
Xhjronicles. In procefs of time the erroneous notation
i^ecame general, while the trpe reading in the parallel
paflage was retained. In computation it is an invari-
able rule, that hiftorical confiflency is more to be re*
gardedy than notes of number, which, if cafually inter-
changed, or otherwife varied, are a fource of perplexity
in reckoning by generations.

By the aid of chronological char^iElers, applied to
jcoexiftent reigns, a^e the years of the kings of Ifrael^
jadjufted to thofe of Judah, in this period, the common
meafure being 93, in perfeft harmony with the reports
p{ the Sacred Chronicle. Two numbers only deviate
frotn the truth pf cemputation, the 36th of Afa is put
fpr the 26th, ai^d the ;8th for the 22d of Jehoihaphat.
^ut fuch miftakes, ^s are difcpverable by 4:omparing the
f:pntextwith itfelf, lead tp no deception.

♦ aCbrop^xxii. a.^ f a Kings, ^i. 26.

CHAP.

I
I

M^ )

•W^'i^T

I

CHAP. IIL

From Athalia to the Redu6lion of.Simaria.

N his Treatife on the Sacred Chronolog}' the yei^Cr
rable Primate remarks, that the fum of the reign^ ,
over Judah, in this period, is 165 ; ihofe over Ifracl
J43 years 7 months; the deficiency being 21 years 5
months. With refpeft to the former feries, the author
deviates from his arrangement in the Annals, where the
interval is reftrifted to 163. The larger number is a
corredion juftified by the fecred regifters. 'Yet \}y a
flrange fatality, he proceeds to an equation, .and re-
trenching one year from the reign of Jehoafh^ another
from Aliaz, reflores the deficient number. As no hint
of an incomplete year, or of a joint adminillration.
occurs in either cafe, this abridgement is inadmiflible.
In the former period, the fubjedl of the preceding chap-
ter, it is recorded, that Afa died in the 41ft year from
his acceffion ; and that the firft of Jehoram's fole reignt
began while Jehofliaphat was king of Judah. Thefc
hints, had the Metropolitan attended to them, gave him
full authority for reducing the fpace between Solomon
and Athalia from 95 to 93 years. If no other unchro-
nological abbrevi^ipns had been made^ the length of

C UROn^o to a^ from Athalia, i^c. 77

the interval from the acceffion of Rehoboam to the
dilperiion of the apoftate tribes, would have agreed with
every recorded criterion of the intermediate tinaeSi

This period, may conveniently be divided Into two
parts.

I. From the death • of Ahaziah to that of Uzziah,
kings of Judah, the fum of the reigns is 127. Uzziah
and Pekahiah» king of Ifrael, died in the fame year.
From the 12th of Joram, excluCvely, to the death of
Pekahiah, mull likewife intervene 127 years. Jeroboam
II, in Samaria, died 14 years after the beginning of
Uzziah*s perfonal reign in Judah, which was the 13th
from the death of Amaziah ; and 13 + 14 = 27, con-
xieft the 4ifl;, or laft, year of Jeroboam with the 27th
of Uzziah, thus : .

Athalia

6

Jehu -

28

Jehoafli

40

Jehoahaz

17

Amaziah -

29

Joafh -

16

Uzziah

27

Jeroboam

41

lOZ

102

Uzziah reigned 52 years, and confequently lived 25
after Jeroboam. But the reigns of Jeroboam's fuccef-
fors, from Zachariah to Pekahiah, both included, make
but 12 years 7 months. Here is a deficiency of 11
years 5 -months, the complement of 25.

It muft be prefumed, that from the 27th to the 38th

of Uzziah, when Zachariah afcended the vacant throne,

was a feafon of anarchy in Samaria. Suppofe it to have

lafted II years nearly; for though Zachariah*s fix

months began in the 38th, they ended in the 39th.

In

yS CHitONoLoGY from Ati^aliX

I^} this year he was flain by Shallum ; and Shaliartf^
after one full month, by Menahcm. According to rti^
ufual rule of computation, the whole year (hotild have
been reckoned to Menahem. But his right to the throne
was not immediately recognized. Of a throne, ac-»
quired by blood, he could not obtain pofleflion, without
violence. Thofe inhabitants, who would not open thehr
cities to him, he fmote with thie fword, and ripped nptbe
women with child. At lad, defpairing of fuccefs, he
bribed Pul, king of Aflyria, with looo talents of
filver, to con&rm the kingdom in his hand^ and pre-*
Tailed.

The time of this conflift for domination, it is rea-
fonable to fuppofe, was two years, including the few
months affigned to Zachariah and Shallum. Having
forcibly invaded the throne, he reigned lo years, and
was fucceeded by Pekaiab, his fon, who died after two
years. The reigns in Samaria Aibfequent to the cle-
niife of Jeroboam, adjufted to the remaining yean of
Uzziah in Jerufalem, are^ as follow :

Uzziah . 27 Jeroboam dies*

Interreign - - il

Zachariah and Shallum s

Interreign - - j

Menahem « I a

Pekaiah dies « %

Uzziah 4ics

27

38

II

39

I

40

I

50

10

5a

2

25

+

I02

127

25
+ \Q%

127

11. Th«

to the ReduBlm ^SaMarXA- . ^9

II. The remaining divifion of this period compre-
hends the two reigns of Jotham and Ahaz with the
firft fix years of Hezekiah : — i6 + 16 +. 6 = j8. Iti
the chronicle of the contemporary kings in Ifrael» 20
years only are adigned to Pekah^ and 9 to Hofhea ;
the deficiency 9- Two notations in the regiiter indi«
o^t^ a.fuccefsful expedient for afcertaining the equality
of the numbers.

I. Pekah was flain in the 20th year froni the death
^f Uz^iah^QF 4th of Aha^, which the &cred hiHorian^
by a very unufual mode ofexprefTion, calls the aoth of
Jotham the fon ofUzziah*.* Jotham reigned but 16
years. Pekah was, theFefoFe, murdered in the fourth
cf bis fuccefTor. But here ^n objeflion occurs. ^< In
dbe fi^cond year of Pekah, t;ing of Ifrael, began Jotham,
^ng of Judah, to reign t." Confequemly the firft of
"Pekah was coincident both with the fecond of his pre-
deceirpr P^ahiah, and alfo with the 52d of Uzziah,
on the throne of Judah. But, if one invariable rule
in computation be applied, the objedion will difappear.
Pekah moft probably afcended the throne of Ifrael a
few days or weeks before the death of Uzziah, who it
may be prefumed did furvive the then cnfuing month
of Abib, whence the fecond of Pekah, according to the
ufual mode of computation, began. From the fame
term likewife was counted the firft of Jotham. Yet,
the far greater part of the fame year being common to
both' princes, the faered hiftorian, by connecting the

« % Kings, XV. 30. f V. 3».

aoti

8o Chronology /r^w AthalIa

20th of Pekah with the 20th from the dcmife of tj^-*
ziah excluGvely, intimates, that, in this one infiance^
he deviates from the general rule of counting a feW
days or weeks a whole year.

2. The reign of Hofheai in Samaria, is dated fi^ont
the 1 2th of Ahaz * ; that is, eight full years after the
murder of Pekah. Here is a decifive intimation of an
interreign in Ifrael. To Hofhea is afligned a reign of
nine years. But the 2o years of Pekah, the nine of
HoQiea, and the eight of an interreign, is no more
than 37, or lefs by unity than 38, the interval from
the death of Uzziah to the fixth of *Hezekiah inclu-
fively. This defeft may be fupplied, by fuppofing,
that, in the I2th of Ahaz, Hofliea, either by forcc^ or
by the confent of the people, had furmounted the re«
fifiance of an oppofite fa£lion, and that his reign ii to
~ be computed from the t3th of Ahaz. Thus arc the
reigns of the kings, in the rival itates, brought to an
exadl equation.

Jotham - 16 Pekah - 20

Ahaz - 16 Interreign 9

Hezekiah - 6 Hofhea - 9

38

+127

38
+127

165

+93

165
+93

258

258

• % Kings^ xvii. i.

USHXH

USHElt allows but 254 years from the revolt to the
removal of thfe ten tribes; The reafon of this abbre*
viation has already been afligned. In the Annals the
tnrth of Arphaxad and of Abraham is anticipated each
hy one year. A third is retrenched from the reign of
Jehoaihf and a fourth from that of Ahaz. Thefe mif«
takes being reSified, the redu£lion of Samaria is brought
dowti to its true date A. M. 3288, not 3284.

** They who make operofe explications of little
difficuhies* are more folicitous in defending the chrono-
logy of the fcripture, than it needeth. In reckoning
the times, the facred writers do not inGfi on the niceties
of odd months, days, or parts of a year*." Even
this remark is more than it needeth. No other hifio*
rians are fo careful to diftinguifh incomplete from full
years, to chara£lerize excurrent months, and days, by
the years of co-exiftent reigns, and to fuggeft more
bints than ar^ ftri&ly neceflary to the truth of compu-
tation. Of the infpired authors this is one peculiar
mark of perfedion. In the foregomg arrangements
the utmoft regard has been had to thofe numbers of
reference, without which it would have been impoflible
to methodife the hillory of this period ; and it is, with
TQUch fatisfa£lion, difcovered, that all are perfe£lly
confifient. Subjoined are the fynchronifms in the
reigns from the 93d year fubfequent to the death of
Solompn, exhibited at one view.

* Wall's note on % Kings, ix. 19.

G Judah

8a Chronology from Athalia^ Ice.

Judah.

Athalia
Jchoaih

Amniah

iTr.ziah a
Minor

Pcrfonal
rcigni

1
1

6

X
22

39
40

X

i6
^9

12
13

38
39

40
50

Jehu

Jehoahaz
Joafli

Jeroboam

Samaria.
6

7

28

I

17

X

1

16
I

H

26

27

41
Interrcign 1 1

Zachariah ^

and Shal- > i

lum J

Intcrrcign i

Menahem ro

99
100

I2X
122
138
139

r4o

'54

»55
x68

180

ill

195
206

207

208
ai8

Judah.
Cuiah 51

Jotham
Ahas

5*

I

16
t

a

3

4
»3
14
15

1^

Hezckiah i

»

3
4
5

6

Pekahiah x 2x91
Pekah s %±^

X 221

x^ 236

x8 238

Ptfkah flain 20 24P
Intbreiga 9 249

UoOica*

X

2

f

4

5
6

7

250

*53

»54

256

The ten
tribes

I

8 *57

carried away 9 258

It merits regard, that the long reign of Uzziah hap-
pily ferves, as an adjufting meafure, for f^ven (hort
reigns, and three vacancies of the throne in Samafia.

'* Hofliea's firft year is contie^fted with the lath. o£ ^iiaz
(2 Kings, xvii. 1.). In the table it coincides with the X4th.
This apparent difcord of dates admits a very probable' com-
promife. fn the rath of Ahaz, either by conihrt or Compv!-
fton, Hofhea mjght obtain the fovereignty; hut the Ikcred
hiilorian judged it proper to ioclude ^he nine full yeaiip ^
ufurpation, and to compute the reigaof the. fame quantity
from the 14th of Ahaz, in which it mod probably ended.
Some part of the fame year might he common to both princ^^
though it did not begin attd end with the fame day of the
txideut rcigHs.

CHAP.

t 83 )

4

»

. 1 *

#1 •

■ ■• .- i.'.* • • ■

.,.;:?■■ .,..'.

, 1 « . >

• •

• • ■ •

.... • . • • *

• . k

CHAP.

IV.

From the RemovaLtf the Ten Tribes to the Con*,
Jlagraiion of the Firji Temj>le.

«i I /«

THAT ufeful dire£loi{^y tlie Chronicle of Samariay
unavoidably ceafed With the political exillence
of that efiabliflnncnt. Its iife,- hotvevin", is happily fu-
perfeded by Ptolemy^^ Mathematical Canon» which
opens 26 years prior to the extinStion of the kingdom
m Ifrael, and terminates with the; reign of Antoninus
the Philofopher,' one full: century after the Chriftian
era.

The reigns &i Judah are ftill computed from Abib«
But to all of then the Annals aflign another date from
different months of their feveral years. The authorities
produced from the facred records, if properly inter-
preted, do not* eftabliih the author's pofitions, a full
examination of "VKhich is referved for the enlarged
Arrangements, where it will be ihewn, that his con-
clurionS;acc:at variance with the chronology and hifiory
of the times.

This period ends with A. lA. 3421, 427 years
after the foundation^pf the Temple. But from tbe 39th
cf Solomon's lei^ exclufively, 3030, begins a new

G 2 foi^rcc

84. CURONOLOdy.

fource of computadoo, by the noted teem of 390 years,
beyond which the punilhment of Ifrael's apoftacy was
not to be deferred *•

As a regulating meafure for the remaining reigns in
Judah, it is requifite to fet thofe of Cbaldea in juxta*
pofition. An abbreviated fcheme foHows.

Jerufalem.
Hczckiah

Babylon.
Mard.£m- 2 259
padiis iz 269

5 274

Manaflch

7

17

22 Arcbianus

14 Intenciga

a? ifelibus

x8 Aprooa-

a9 dius

J

4

5 RegUibtts

r Mccclli-

9 1 monU''

C cus

iy Intcrrc'gn 8 298

SoV^^ }- 33.
51 Nebuchado- i 332

\

2 276

3 279

1 280

2 281

3 282
6 285
t 286

4 *90

Amort
Jufiah

55

2
I

uofor

5 336

7 338

8 339
22 353

Jerufalem.
Jofiah t6

Jchoahaa jf
eboiakim i

4
5

7

9
10

Tehoiachin 11

i^dekiadt ' r

. .-4

5
6

7
8

10

Babyl<

Ml.

Kabopol-

r ^54

laflar

16 369

17 370

Kebucbad-

120 37j

uezzarf

221 374

1

3 375

4 376

■ <

5 376

6 377

. .#

7 378

« 379

9 3^

,

.10 381

It 382

«* 3»3

13 384

■

14 385

15 386

. i« 387

•

17 38^

•

l8 3*9

■

*9 59©

" A.M. 3421
• See Ezekiely iv. :v •

t Daniel, adopting the computation of Chaldca> whcm he
wrote his Prophecies, dates Nebuchadnezzar's reign from the
death of his father. But all the other iacrad authors reckon
from the fourth of Jehoiakim. >

The duration of the divine forbearance ivith the idolatrons

ifraeliteSy prefignified to Ezekiely was limited. to 390 yea»»

the laft of which began in the tenth of Zedekiah* which was

the i8th of Nebuchadnezzar, Jer. xxxii, i. 5 and etded.on the

ninth of the fourth month in the fubftquent year, 'when tKc-

famine was fore in the city, and Zcdekiah bound with fetters.

a Kings, xxiv. 5—7.

Stages

Captivity of Judah* 85

Stages kA the Siege according to tbe Hebrew and

Roman Calendar.

^ A.M. Heb. Rom.

Z^ekiah*S9t]b year begins 3419 Abib X April to m.

Seige begun - 3430 Shehat 10 Jan. 14 th«

loth of Zedekiah begins Abib 1 April a8 L

Siege renewed - Sivan t6 July ta C

J ith of Zedekiah begins 3421 Abib x April 17 t*

Famineprevails. The liege raifed Tamuz xo July a6 th«

Conflagration of the temple Ab 10 Aug. 25 f..

Captives carried to Babylon 20 Sept. 4 t.

These Arrangements, the refult of calculations^
confiru£led on infallible chara£lers of time, exprefled in
feveral concurrent texts, evince, that the years of Ze«
dekiah are not computed, as in the Annals, from the
tenth day of the fourth month, and that the eleventh
in particular, did hot expire till the end of the eighth
month exclufively from the date of his captivity.

If from the bilking up the city, on the 26th July,
390 years be counted back, to the firft of Rehoboam,
which was the 40th of Solomon, their comniencementt
without r^rd to the Hebrew lunar form, will coincide
with Wedncfday the 27 th July A. M. 3031, the true
hiftorical term, whence the cftabliflimcnt of idol-
worfliip in Samaria is to be computed.

Usher, Prideaux, Bedford, and others, contimie
the currency of the 390 years to the 23d of Nebuchad-
nezzar, when Nebuzaradan returned to Jerufalcm, and
thence carried away into Babylon 745 captives *•

♦ Jer. UL 30.

G 2 This

86 C H H O N. O L O. O Y.

This obvious metachronifm is the unavoidable. con-
fequence of taking four full years from the age of the
world, and of conne£ling the hiftorical date of our
Lord's nativity with A.M. 4000. But the ori^ of
thts miflake is not now the fubjefl of difcui&on. Its
efitfls muft be examined. It contradifis the numbers
and iftia^ety of the prophetical vifion in the fourth
chapter of Ezekiel ; — nay, perverts the very terms by
which the vrhole is explained. The complex apparatus
relates entirely to a then future fiege of Jerufalem ;-— a
liege of a determinate length ; — neither more rior lefs
than 390 natural days. Tbefe natural days reprefented
as many natural years in pall hiftorical time. If the
firft of the 390 days reprefented the firft of the 390
years, evident is the abfurdity of affirming, that the
39Qth, year and the .390th day had a differeni; ter-
mination.

From the time of raifing the ficge, 40 days inore
wer^e to intervene before the carrying away of Judah
into captivity. Thefe reprefent as many years of the
divine patience towards the tribes of Judah and Ben-
jamin .,($:omprebcnding alfo the remains of the ten
other tribes, who bad adhered to the houle of David,
fmce the redu£Uon of Samaria); and art counted in.
the fcheme from . the. loth of Tamuz to the 2otb o(
Ab. The 40 correfpondent years are nuoibered from
the beginning of Jeremiah's miniAry, io the I3tb of
Jofiab.

Sixth

f «7 )

/ •

MbMHHMaMMnHMMaaMnnHN

SSSEI3PS

Sixth Jg0 .<if the World'
C H A P. I.

From tie^Reftoraiian rf the Jews to the Fall of the

Perjian Empire.

T N the interval, from the 19th of Nebuchadnezzar to
-*• the firft of Cyriis, very little is recorded of the
Hebrew captives, while exiles from their country.

For conne£ling the hiflory of this people, and the
chronology of the fubfequent times, with the Mathemati-
cal Syntaxis of Ptolemy, is wanted a counterpart, fi-
milar to the Royal Calendar in Judah. From this defe£l
arifes the lofs of a national direftory in computation/
A regifter, though not compiled wholly by infpired
writers, nether in the form of a national dire£lory»
occurs. Its materials exift, though in a flate of 4if-
perfion, among the records of various nations. This
was precifely the condition of the Jews themfelves,
after the difiblution of their monarchy. But flill the
femblance of fupremacy was preferved, in the perfons
of certain chiefs, called Princes of the Captivity, or in
high priefts, oftai invefted with the fundions of ma-
giflracy. In the facred and apocryphal books, as far as
they extend, are preferved the names^ number, and

G 4 order

88 Chronology.

order of fucceiBon, in which fuch princes, or pontiftst
obtained jurifdi£lion, from the firft of Cyrus, to the
nominal fovereignty of Herod, when the high prieiU
hood ceafed to be hereditary. Much ufeful informa*
tion of this fort, is likewife contained in the Alex-
andrine Chronicle * ; but efpecially in Jofephus, who
is much more accurate in his accounts of the high
priefts, fubfequent to the clofe of the Hebrew canon^
than in the times of the Judges and Kings.

At the time of Zedekiah's degradation, Seraiab was
put to death at Riblah, after he had worn the mitre
about 13 years. During the captivity we read of no
other high prieft than his fon, Jofadac. Probable it is,
that he did not all that time hold this honourable rank.
If he did not, he might have been fucceeded by an
elder Son, or, as was not unufual, in the event of a
minority, by a prieft in the collateral line, till Jeflbua
fhould attain the legal age of confecration. Invefied
with this cbarafier he returned with Zorobabel, and
retained the dignity 53 years.

An obje£lion is to b^ removed. In the fecond year
of Cyrus, Jefhua had fons appointed to fet forward the
work of the Temple ; which implies an advanced age
at the time of the return from Babylon, and renders
improbable the hypothelis of fo very long a pon-
tificate f .

• It was firft difcovered in an old library in Sicily, One
copy was brought to Rome, another afterwards to Augfburgh
in Germany, where it was tranflated and publiibed in 1624.
Prideaux prefers, in many things, its authority to that of
Africanus and Eufebius.

f Ezra, iii. 9.

But

Jews Restoration. 89

But JeOiua the high pried is always chara£lerized
as the fon of Jofadac. Whereas the Jefhuaf in the-
fpecified text, and in all otiiers, where his naoie occurs,
was of the Levites, a clafs inferior even to that of the.
ordinary priefts ♦. The JeQiua, whofe fons fet forward
the work of the houfe of the Lord, was the Ixvite,
and is always tnention^d with KadmieL .

In this period Aaron's rod began to bloifom afrelh,
when the prerogatives, annexed for a time, to the *
fceptre of Judah, were reftriSed to his own tribe;

Frimo avulfo, non deficit alter
Aureus, & (imili frondeicit virga metallo. ViRO.

One pluck'd away, a fecond branefa ye fee

Shoot forth in gold, and glitter thro' the tree. Pitt.

Such are the numerous records, whence may be
con(lru£)ed a competent dire£lory for regulating the
chronology of the times, to which the canonical hillory
docs not reach. In certain notations they differ from
one another. To them is not afcribed the attribute of
infallibility. The writings even of the infpired hillo-
rians and prophets feem in fome things to difagree.
But apparently difcordant paflages Being brought to the
teft of found critic! fm, conformably to the courfe of
nature, and the truth of computation, every colour of
ambiguity, error, or impofture, acquires the afpefl of
credibility i,

* See Ezra 11. 40. Keh. viT. 43— x. 9 — xii. 8. 24. Sec
alfo Dr. Wall's iibte on E'/fa, lii. 9 \ and Prideaux, vol. i. a 15.
fof. edition.

Analysis

90

Chronology.

Analysis of the JewiOi hiftory, under the princes
of the captivity, and high priefts, conae£led with the
reigns in Babylon and Perfia, from the overthrow of the
firft temple to the rife of the Greek emphne; together
nvith the corrected dates, mifplaceJ, in U(her*s Annals.

Years from the death of Seraiab, A. M. 3421.

Jofadac

}

Jefhua

Nebuchad-
nezzar
£vi) Merodac i
KeriglifTar 4
Bcllhaziar 17
Dar. Medus 2
1 Cyrus

i5Cambyfcs7
Smcrdis 5
16 Dar. Hyfl.

52 Xerxes
Jefliua dies 53
JoUkim 1

20 Art. Long.
The
wee

1«>

28

32
49

51

55
58

66

I 67

36 I02

I 103

I

7
8

2

3

104
105

6 begin

21 113

I 114

7 120
II 124

Eliafhib i 12 125

Nchcmiah's^ 9 Cdmmiffion 20 133

ElUQiib

Juiadah
End of the

Jonathan

Jaddm

10 Alt. Long. 21 134
30 41 154

31. Dar. Noduis^i. 155

40 9 161

f II 165

5 Sacred hift. 15 169

9 19 173

io>Art. MneiD. i 174

46
I

• s

15

1 6 Ochus

3*
I

4

6 Arogus

31 204
3* 20s
46 219
I ^20
If 236
18. 237
21 240

* HI

Codom. 4 247
A. M. 3668

It now remains, that the anachronifms in the Annals
be reduced to the natural order of genuine hiftory.

I. The identity of Cambyfes, the fon of Cyrus^
with the Ahafuerus mentioned Ezra, iv. 6 ; and of
Smerdis, the magian, with the Artaxerxes, in the fe-
venth verfc, is an arbitrary hypotbcfis of U(bcr, and
xafhly adopted by Prideaux and Bedford.

Cambyses, and hisfucceflbr Smerdis, theimpoftor>
occupied the Perfian throne from the deraife of Cyrus
to the acceffion of Darius Hyftafpis, a fliort period of
eight yesurs, according to the report of the moll credi-
ble

Rebuilding of the TiMVtz. 91

ble hiflorians, and the c6mputation of Ptolemy, the
nlathlESinatkian. In the facred hiftory it is recorded,
*^ That 'the people of the land," that is, the difiif-
feSed' Samaritans, <♦ weakened the hands of the people
in Judah, and troubled them in building (the Temple),
all the days of Cyrus, even unto the reign of Darius,
fcing of Perfia.** This interval comprehends 14 years.

None of the Pag^n writers has diilinguiffied Cam-
byfes by the name of Ahafuerus ; and though Smerdis
had ftveral names, which are well known, yet that of
Artaxerxes was certainly not of the number.

The oppofition raifej by evil counfellors, who had.
been hired to fruftrate the purpofe of the builders, prior
to the reign of Darius Hyfiafpis, feems to have been
the projed of a tumultuous faf^ion at home, without
the knowledge or authority of the Perfian court. If
the deputy governors in Samaria, ihftigated by the ad«
verfaries of Judah, did tranfmit to Cambyfes, in the
commencement of his reign, a remonArance againft
the Rebuilding of the Temple, no evideujCe of his pro-
hibiting the wOrk, by a royal edi£l, exiils. Improba-
ble it is, that he would reverfe a national deed, fo
lately and folemnly ratified by his father. His fliort
and buftling reign, embroiled with foreign wars, parti-
cularly the conqueA of Egypt, left him but few and
fiiort intervals, for the admin i drat ion of Perfia ; mucbf
lefs for interfering with the afiairs of remote pro-
vinces.

Smerdis, during the few months of his ufurpation,

folicitous to conceal the infamy of his mutilated ears*

and

92 Chronology.

and to guard againft the apprehended danger of a vio*
lent death, feldom appeared in public^ and difcharged
few funflio^fs of royalty. Befides, before the Sannari*
tans could o^in an anfwer to tlieir complaint (if any
were produced), he had undergone the punHhment due
to his impofture and treafon.

The conclufion from thefe premifcs is, that the re-
fillence to the building of the Temple, from the time of
Cyrus to Darius, proceeded wholly from the malevo-
lence of the Samaritan fadion, witliout the approbitioh
of the intermediate pri.ices, Cambyfes and Smerdis.

But in the fecond year of Darius, Tatnai, the De-
puty Governor in Sarharia, with his companions, tried»
though without effc£), to hinder the elders of Judah
from proceeding to build the houfe of the Lord. A
letter wa^ fent from Samaria to Darius, fetting forth,
that the Jews had begun, and were ftill continuing in
that work, under the pretended fandion of authority
from Cyrus. The remondrants fubmitted to the king's
good pleafure, whether the national archives ihould be
fearched, in order to difcover the original of that de-
cree. The records were confulted, and the deed found
to be authentic. Darius immediately enforced the com-
miflion by Cyrus, adding ample encouragements to the
builders, and denouncing on their enemies grievous
pains and penalties. The Jews continued to build, and
the houfe .was fini(hed in the fixth year of that reign.
This is the fum of what is recorded in the canonical
Book of Ezra, concerning the work of the fecond

Temple^,

Rebuilding d^ Jerusalem. 93

Temple. Before its dedication the rebuilding of the
city-i^s not begun.

On this principle h \s pfefumed, that the Ahafuerus
and Artaxerxes, mentioned in the fixth and feventh
verfes of the fourth chapter, were not the predeceffirsy
but the 'Jucctjjhrs of Darius Hyftafpis ; and confe-
quentljr were Xerxes and his fon, Arraxerxes Longi-
manu^.

**'Ih the reign of Ahafuerus, in the beginning of
his reign, wrote they ♦ an accufation againft the inha-
bitants of Judah and Jerufalem." The articles of this
accufation are not expreffed. They could not, how-
ever, relate to the reftoration of the Temple, for that
ftruflure had been finifhed full 30 years before the ac-
ceflion of Xerxes. Of that complaint the fubje£^,
doubtlefsj w;ei,s the rebuilding of the city : and this
conjefture the words of the text confirm. In the pre^
cedii\g' verfes, which treat of the Temple only, the
people of Judah alone are mentioned. The city did
not then exift otiierwife than aS a heap of ruins. Now,
after the lapfe of 30 years, confiderable prbgrefs muft»
under the patronage of Darius, have been made i^n
rearing up its defolate edifices. Not without peculiar
emphafis does the hiftorian obferve, <^ That this accufa-
tion was written againil the inhabitants of Judah
and Jerusalem."

The hiftory gives no fuller account cf the refult of
this remonfirance^ than of its contents, though they are
^jaferred by implication* It had very probably an eflfefl^

9 The people of the UiQd, and tfaeir counfeHors*

fimilar

gH, Chronology.

fimilar to tbe complaint preferred in the former rdgo#
It was meant for mifchief, but produQive of good. It
is tbe remark of Jofephus, <^ Tbat Xerxes inherited
not only tbe kingdom» but alfo tbe piety, of bit father
Darius ; for be did all things relative to' the divine
worfbip, in imitation of fo worthy a pattern, 4iiid ap-
proved himfelf a munificent benefador of tbe Jews *•*'
Here is a fortuitous, but not indecifive prefumption,
that this writer confidered Xerxes as the Ahafuenis in
Ezra, iv. 6.

«« In the days of Artaxerxes wrote Biflilam,. &c. a
letter againft Jerufalem." This remonfixance it expli-
citly declared to have bad for its fubjefi the building of
the rebellious and bad city, the walls of which bad then
been fet up, and the foundations joined. During tlip
fpace of 41 years from the dedication of the TempI^
had the Jews, enabled by a royal grant from Dariutf
and continued by Xerxes, of all the tribute arifiMfrpm
the lands in Judah, Samaria, and Galilee, propeeded
with all difpatch, without much difiurbance friCNP .<t>eir
fchifmatical neighbours f . The Samaritant,' fjfiidgaig
fo large a contribution, extorted annually for t)pe ^

• Ant. 1u. 5* I.

t The wor^i of the grnAt are, •* MoreoTer, I make a de»
cree, tbat of the king's goods, even of the tribute befdlid Ike
river, forthwith expcnces be given unto thefc men that they be
not hindered. '''Ezrajvi. 8. By *' the tr'tltute beyond fberhier,**
t \ not meant the whole taxes ariftng from all the provjncei of
the Perfian empire, on the weft of the Euphrates j but, in ^
mdrereftrifted fcnfe, the produce of the revenues 'impOfed on
the late kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael.

lument

REB\JlVDl^o ^T JerusAxem. 95

jument of the ]t^% repeated their grievances, with
petitions of rdie^ dt the co^naencement of every new
jieign-^ and at the aceeflion of Artaxerxes Longimanus,
the uiiial expedient was ftot. omitted, . He, implicitly
telicving the. accufation, . in its full extent, as fet forth^
without hearing the,. Jews fin their own defence, gave
pxdera thfi.t the city fiKMild not be builded, till a new
commandment ihoold he given from himfelf ^« The
epnufxiffioners neUsmed^ and made the Jews to ceafe by
Jbrce and power:; nor was this peremptory prohibition
reverfed before the feyenth year of the fame reign +.

2. The CQ^ppotation of the Annals deviates from
the truth of hiftory, in affirming, that Darius Hyftafpis
was the prince,,: who, under the name' of Ah^fuerus,
divorced Vaflxti and efpoufed Efther. Qn the authority
of the Septuagint, Jofephus, and the apocryphal book

f This arrwlgtirfetit ef reigns, event;?, arid dates, from tbe
firft of Cyrus, is authorifed by the teftimony of the Pagan
witcra, and, witk the be]p of a few necefHiry tranfpofitions,
accords io perfe6J harmony with the reports contained in the
books of the canonical and apocryphal Ezrx
' This order of titties, and incidents, does not incur the cen -
fere of iK)Tclty 5 though even novelty is not a certain criterion
of crror^ It refts 00 the authority of the ^eatSir IfaAc New-
ton, (Cbronol. ch* vi.) and is confirmed by additional .re-
marks and evidences, in a brief eifay on the Chronology cf
fomc PaiTages, 5cc. fubjoined to Dr. Wall's Critical Notes on
the New Teftament, vol. iii. The author of this Analyfig
would have been happy in referring to authorities equally r<»
l)>eft^le in fupport of many other conjedures, far which be
alone is refpohBble.

I of

96 Chronology.

of £fther;— all which records teftify, that the kinff,
whofe queen was Eftber, and whoTe prime niniftef
was Hamao, had the name of Artaxerxes *. On their
authority, Lee, Prideaux, Wbifion, &c. diflent from
the Primate*s hypothefis, which anticipates the hiftory
of the canonical book by 59 years.

Tn£ contents of the firft two chapters of the He^
brew Eflhcr are a proper introdufiion to the feventb
of the Hebrew Ezra, which hiflory ends with the fe-
venth year of Artaxerxes. The remaining part of Eftber
continues the hiflory to the 13th of the fame reign ;
and the book of Nehemiah opens with the 20ih.

3. By the confent of all hiftorians Xerxes reigned
^1 years, and Artaxerxes, after his father's demife, 41.
Buc in the Annals, 12 years only are counted to the
father, and the nine fubfequent years to the foiu and
the reign of the latter extended to 51. This diflribu-
tien is arbitrary, and repugnant to hiflory and the
courfe of nature*

By curtailing the reign and life of Xerxes, contrary
to the teftimony of all the hiflorians, (except Tbucy-
dides}, and to Ptolemy's Canon, which refts on the
firm bafis of aftronomical calculations, the Archbiihop
gives his own fingular hypothefis every feroblance of
a paradox. It is likewife incompatible with phyfical
probability. For Juftin reports t, that Artaxerxes was,

* Joferhus in particular alTcrt , tliat he was the fon of
Xerxes, and therefore could be no other than Artaxerxes Loo*
(Imanu?.

f L. iii. t.

at

P£RStAK£M^IR£. 97

at the time of hit father's death, a very young man,
itdmodumpue)f\ and* Diodorus Siculus* repeats the fame
fad. He was bom after his father came to the throne,
for which reafon his elder brothers were overlooked in
the fucceilion. Now, if the father reigned but' 12
years, the fon*s age did not exceed 11. But at the
time of the father's death, or very foon after, the fon
Was matried, and in the third year of his reign di-
vorced his queen. Whereas Xerxes reigned 2ti years,
Artaxerxes afcended the throne at the age of '20. Thus
<he courfe of nature accords with* hiftory : the chro-
nology of the Annals offers violence to both, and in-
curs the cenfure of abfurdity.

No Icfs controvertible is the authority of the Arch-
biihop's poflulate, than the conclufion he meant to
eflablifh. According to Thucydides the flight of The-
miftocles into Perfia was immediately fubfequent to the
death of Xerxes t. Ufher, in confirmation of his hy-
pothefis, refers to the Chronicle of Eufebius, where
the lad year of the 76th Olympiad is faid to have been
the date of Themiftocle's expedition into Perfia. That
however was the 13th of Xerxes. Diodorus Siculus
brings it down to the 15th of the fame reign. Xerxes

• L. xi.

f It is above fuggefted, that this author's teflimony, aa iia-
gular, is of doubtful credit. Cornelius Ncpos, indeed, quotes
it with .ipprobation, though he owns that the far greater num*
ber of writers affigns an earlier date; and Plutarch relates, that
Charon of Lampfacus agreed in opinion with Thucydides,
though he reje^s the authority of both.

H therefore

98 C H R O S O L O G V.

therefore reigned more than twelve years ; an4 what-
ever number, lefs than 21, be aflumed, the objedion,
arifing from the premature age of Artaxerxes» ieraain»
in full force. Dodwcll, in hh Ann^3 of Thucydidesy
reprobates, as uncbronologicai, the computation of b'n
author, with refpefl to the arrival of Thcmifloclcs ii»
Periia*

4. Usher's primary objed, in this anticipated date
of Artaxerxcs's reign, was to give his fcheme of the 70
proplietical weeks the femblance of hillorical accuracy,
Suppofe with him, that Artaxerxes afcended thie thronq
of Perfia in the 13th year from his father's acceffioD,

m

his 20th will coincide, in part, with the number of the

Jul. Period 4260^ the firfi. of the 490 prof^etical

years. Of thefe two numbers the fum is 475.0, or ihe

fourth from the crucifixion, whicli was certainty the I^ft

of the 490. But if the real 20th of that reiga were

the true commencement of the prophetical terpi^ the

Mefliah was cut off 13 years before its terminatioii*

On the whole, the arrangement of the Annals, iathii

in {lance, is a fallacious artifice of chronolojgical eiiv>

piricifra. Let 41 years only be allowed for the, reign

of Artaxerxes, including the odd months of Artabanus,

the younger Xerxes, and Sogdian ; — and let 21 years,

full be allowed for the elder Xerxes, confornabty to

the unanimous reports of aM the hiftorians ; — then from

the date of Ezra's commiflion, on the firft of Nifan» in

the feventh of the fame Artaxerxes, A. P. Jul. 4256,

the interval thence to the third of Nifan 4746, is pre-

cifaly 490 years 3 days.

5. As

P E R s t A H Empire. 99

5. Assail th^ fabbacical yeais,^ and jubiles, biilorically
rocoided in Jofep|hus» and the bookfr o£ the Maccabees,
f9|) computed iroln the date of their reAoratioii by Ne«
bemiab *» in the aift of Art%xerxe9; every iaquifitive
jreader, vho would perufe^the facred hiiipty with dif-
ccrnment, has a right to be inforiiied, whether ^f^he-
miah obferved tb^, terms, of the original inftitution, or
introduced a new i^ckpniog : if .t^ latter, wliich oi
the two is the completion in the Anna^ ?

For exarapli^ : - f\ Wh]?a Herod- and. Sofius condtt^ed
the fiege of Jerufalens the inhabitadtls w^rtp reduced t^
extreme neceSity fxom famine, that IxMng. a fabbatical
y^M t/* The Jewifti b^Aorian defines the time by tw9
Aeutioasof ifl(:^l{ibl^ f^^rtainty : i . Th« jconfulate of Mar*-
CUB- Agrippa aojd Canijoios Gallus, and th^ iSith Olymr-
piads— the former bring >he 717th yf ar of the Vamofc
fiiaiv <^on?pula(ipnf A^ M. 3972 ; and the firft .qf the
^tcTi coin^idfiit) abqut the time of tbe famtner folfttce^
that very io^io^i when the city was taken by ftorm.
^g^that year^ 9S ^xetuni) of Septenary r^fl, began with
Hhcj tioNi of ilift ,M|$i|fnml «quiaox in. 397 n* It is now

1. WttETjHiLR Jofephtti computed that reft from
ito true date^ lib^ fevy^o^h year from the partition of the
4Sowtry in .2;$^$ i. Ci9wpet)diou6 and decifive is this
I^ObUaa: i^ 297^ — ^;^68=x403p which furplus, di-
vided, hy 7« i|iiQtes ^<>o years of reieafe, and the re-

vm^^ d<»i9tes the third year of tile then current

I ■ •

41 ■ » . I • • • •

• Chap. X. 3X, t JofcpEus, Ant. xiv. 16. i.

H % cycle»

too Chronology.

cycle. Evident it therefore is, that Jofephas did not
count from the primary fource. Neither £d the Arch*
bifliop, whofe reckoning, from the feventh year after
the paflage over Jordan, exclodes thofe fix years of
fowing and reaping, which the ftatute did not only per*
mir, but enjoin. By this prochronifm, one faperfluous
week of years is entered into the Annab. With every
femblance of prectfion, however, the year of the fiege
is charaSerifed as-fabbatica!. His origiRal* numbers^
erroneoufly combined, impofed on bimfelf, and his
readers, a plaufible chronological deceptioHf in every
fubfequent criterion of time. By bringing the date o£.
the Creation too k>w by four years, the numerical cha»
raders of this fiege, with refpefl to the age of the
world, are mifplaced, 3967 being fabftituted for 397T;
as in fixing the time of the firft feptenary cycle, 2560
was preferred to 2568. This involuntaiy follacy wears
every afpefl of certainty. As it arifes from the junfiion
of incoherent numbers, let the four deficient years, in
the age of the world, be repkced, (3967 + 4 = 397 1 )>
and retain the Primate's date of the prhnluy iabbatkal
year; an eafy arithmetical operation will afcertsunthc
fource of the miflake. Thus . 397 1 — 2560 =: 141 1,
quotes 201 fabbatical cyctes,- with a furplus of four
years, a fraflional part of the current cycle, at the time
when Herod befieged Jerufalem. The only remaining
error is the addition of one fuperfbous week of years ;
and this is zcSkified by fubftituting 2568 for 256^
Tantum ferlts jun^uraque polkt +. The next enquiry is,

t Hon

2. Whether

P t K $ I A K Empire. ioi

9* Whether all the fabbatical cycles (kblequent
to the re-eftablUbment of the brdinance by Nehemiah^
4o proceed in a contiauous ieries &om this new term ?
It is previouily requifite to afcertain the date of their
reftoratioa. One indifpenfable criterion of time is the
acceffion of Artaxerxes Longimanus ; and it has been
ihewn, that the hypothefis of Ulher is exploded by the
courfe of nature, and dired hiAQrical evidence. This
reign muft confequently be reckoned from the 2ift of
Xerxes, exclufively. Sir Ifaac Newton, by an accu-
mulation of chronological xrharaders, fixes his demife to
the end of winter A. M. 3544 ; fuppofe about the end
of January. His murderer, Artabanus, having invaded
tbe vacant throne, was llain after an ufurpation of feven
months. Thus is the commencement of Artaxerxes'
reign brought down to September in that year^ Hence
(that is, neither from the Hebrew Abib, nor the
E^gyptian Thoth) dp the facrej hUlorians compute
tbe fucceeding years of this prince. For in ^he ninth
Hebrew month, Chifleu, in the 20th year of Artaxerxes,
Nehemiah was informed tlpt the wall of Jerufalem had
been broken down, and the gates burnt. Nifan, the
firft of the pext Hebrew year, is charafterifed as ia
thp 20th ^f the fame reigp. From thefe * and other
unequivocal notations, Sir Ilaac concludes, with his
ufual acutenefs, that it began in the autumnal half
year, between the fourth and ninth Hebrew months.
Qut a chronological chara£ler, ilill more appofite and
deciGvCi remains. Africanus inforn^ ps, that the 20th

• See Neh. i. x. and ii. i.

H 3 of

loa Chronology.

of Artaxerxes fell in with the fourth of the S^i Olym--
plad 5 and, therefore, his firR year began a month or
two months before tlic autumnal equinox *. The
Olympic years were computed from the new moon be-
fore the fummer folftice; confequently his^ift )'ear
commenceel one month or two before the enfuing au-
tumnal equinox.

These dates, thus defined, are happily ' fubferrient
to the required difcovery. In the 20th of Artaxerxes
Ndiemiafa fet out from Shufhan^ in Perfia, for Jenifa-
1cm : and, in tlie 25th day of the 6th Hebrew month,*
EluL was the citv wall finifhed. The aift of Arta-
yiCTxcs wa5 then begun. On the 15th df the feveaih
month was the feaft of tabernacles obferved with ejc-
traordinary folemnity. On the 24th was held a vo-
luntary faft, fpent in the reading of the law, in the
confeffion of fins, znd in framing the articles of a na-
tional reformation. One of thefe was an obligation
formally ratified to " leave every fcventh year, and the
exaSion of every debt.'* This is a new Tource' of
compuution by the fabbatical cycles, commencing with
the autumnal equinox A. M. 3565. It has been re-
marked, that the year in which Herod took Jerufalcm^
3971, was fabbatical. If the lefs fum be taken from
the greater,, and the difference, 406, divided by feveri,
the refiilt will be 58 feptenary refts for the land, and'
releafe for fenrants. As (00) remains, that year *was
fabbatical, ip virtue of the new regulation, in the 21ft
of Artaxerxes. Sjrsrt by the primitive term in the days'

• Newton's Chionology, p. 354,

oi

New Series ^Sabbatical Years. 103

tof Jofhua, Jenifalem was befieged in the tHird year of
a th6n current cyc\t.-

It may afked, Why did Nebemiah deviate from the
original feries ? It may be replied, that the true times
-of obferving thefe periodicial fdlemnities might have
^fcaped the remembrance of that generation, after a
lapfe of 654. years, fince the days of Samuel ; for fo
4ong had years of refl and releafe gone into difufe.

But another reafori is much more probable, and al-
tnoft certain. Fourteen years, precifely, before this
«iew regulation, had the 70 weeks of years begun. That
every feptenary combination might be fignalized by the
^•e-e{lab^lfh^!ent of a facred ordinance, too long ne-
jglefled, and eminently conducive to the pra£lice of na-
tional juftice, mercy, and devotion, Nehemiah con-
giefted the fabbatical years with a famous circulating
period in the oracles of prophecy. This double feries
of regulatirig meafures, tn computation, is decifive, if
applied to the chrondbgy of our Lord; — more particu-
larly it defines, with infallible certainty, the duration of
his minifiry.

At the commencement of the 30th jubile, from
<he days of Jofhua, was he baptifed about the time of
the autumnal equinox : and at the ^nd of the 70th
week, which, by the regulations of Nehemiah was fab-
batical, did he fuIFer on the crofs^ at the very time fore-
told by DanieL

Were it not for the injudicious expedient, to which
ihc very refpe£lable Metropolitan had recourfe for cor-
refting the weQ^koown inetachronifm in the year of

H 4 the

IC4 Chronology.

the DionyGan era ; and the improper difpofition of thotl^
chronological numbers, on which depends the truth of
computation; together with the fallacious dates, af-
figned to the fabbatical cycles originally defined by
Mofcs, and at a very remote period, altered^ with exqui*
fite propriety, by Nehemiah ; — were it not for fuch egre-
gious overfights, in the plan and execution of the An-
NALS; — the chronology of our Lord's life would
have been the rooft intelligible, coherent, and perfpi-
cuous article, in the whole hiflory of the Bible. But,
as fet forth to view in this otherwife mafterly work of
a firft-rate genius, the fubjeft is enveloped in darkneb
impenetrable ; and, on his principles, it never can ac-
quire the attribute of credibility ♦.

It

• In favour of the later writers on the Harmoky of tke^
Gospels, it has liberally been obfervcrd, that they come
nearer to the perfection of a juil arrangement, than theur pre-
decelTors could attain. To this praife the later chronou^
GfiRS have no claim. Not fufpe^^ing confufion or fidlacyia
the notations of Archbiihop Uiher; to reconcile his fcheme
"With itfelf, with the computations recorded in the hiftory and
prophecies of the Old Teftament, and with the correfpondent
characters of time in the writings of the Evangelifts; they
have laboured to extradt light from obfcurity, and order froqi
confufion ; but without effect j for the later writers on the
chronology of the gofpels exceed their predeceflbrs in the
abfurdity of their determinations. Dr. Prideaux's fcheme,
which makes the 70th of Daniel's weeks coincident, and com-
menfurate, with the miniftry of John the Baptift and Jefut
Chrift, is perfectly exaCt. One fingle criterion of time would
have prevented the very poflibility of all future miftakes. It
required but a very moderate degree of precaution to iTuggcft,

that

New Series of Sabbatical Years. 105

Xt has been evinced that U(her nfiifplaces the dates of
the fabbatical years, both from the time of Jofhua, and
of Nefaemiah ; as alfo of the 70 prophetical weeks.
Terms^ fo eflential to the truth of reckoning, ought to
be fixed with the utmoft precifion. Sir Ifaac Newton,
and other learned matters in facred literature, having
miftaken the feries of feptenary cycles, reftorcd by
Nehemiah, for that originally inftituted by Mofes *, it
IS requifite to exemplify computation from both epochs.
Few are the explicit allufions, in the Hebrew fcrlp*
tures, to the primitive feries. Of ^lefe, three are fe-
l^^led*

I. " This fliall be a fign unto thee" (Hezekiah) ;
** ye (hall eat this year fuch things as grow of themfelves,
and in the fecond year that which fpring of the fame ;

that this 70th week began in the Hebrew month Abib^
A. M. 4034» not 4029, (as in the Annals), and ended In the
fame month, A. M. 4041 » not 4036. The abfence of fuch
precaution left a fubje<^> formerly perplexed, ftiU doubtful.
Pr. Macnight adj\ift$, with tolerable exa<5tnef8, the chrono-^
logy of Chrift's miniftry to the hiftory-of that period; but, in
fome cafes, proceeds with hefitation, in others without con-
(iftency, and, at laft, concludes with an approach to cer^
tainty.

Some of his fuccelTors, in this line of inveftigation, have
deviated widely, not only from truth, but even from proba-
bility. K(hops Pearct, Newcome, and Dr. Prieftly, have pVe-
fented their'feyeral hypothefes to the public, without imparting
to their readers one fpark of illumination.

* See Sir I. Newton's Obfervations on the Prophecies,
p. 131, and other paifa^es of that rather ingenious than accu-
tatc work. .

and

ic6 C n R O X O L O C Y.

anct in the third year fow and rcap^ and plant vineyards,
and cat the fruits*.**

From the 13th verfe of the i8ih chapter it is cvi*-
dent, that, in the 14th of Hezekiah, Sennacherib came
up agaitlft all the cities of Judah, and, no dOubt, laid
the country under exorbitant contributions, for the fup-
port of his numerous army. It is not here enquired,
whether that was aflually obfervcd as a fabbatical year,
for the reverfe is certain ; but whether it was fuch in
rotation? The years of Hezekiah began with Abib,
ihofe of reft from tillage with Tizri. Computation
nuiil, therefore, proceed from the 13th of that reign,
A. M. 3382: Hence fubtraft that year, which is the
fource of computation, 2568 ; the furplus, 814, which*
divided by feven, quotes 116 years of reft for the land,
and leaves two for the fradional part of a 117th cycle*
That year, confequentiy, was not fabbatical by rotation.
But God gave, for a (ignal to (upport the faith of
Hezekiah, and bis people, a gracious promife of an
extraordinary fupply, from the fpontaneous fruits of the
earth.

« a Kings, xix. 29.

« Without entering into a minute explication, how the pro-
duce of one year ftiould fuffice for three, be it remembered,
that the Hebrew year had a double commencement, the ciYii;
from the autumnal equinox, the sacred from the oppofitc
cardinal point. Both commencements are here ipedfied, and
either interval reckoned for a full year. The Ifraelites had the
promife of immutable veracity, that the incrcafe of every
fixth year fliould be adequate to the confumption of iZ
tnofiths.

2. In

New Serks £/* Sabbat ic A L Years. 107

2. In the eighth year of Zedekiah, A. M. 3418,
when the fovereign had made a covenant with all the
people, that every man fhould prodaini liberty to his
mate and female fervants ; and, even after an a£lual
difmlflioh, the princes recalted them into fervitude, in
the profpeS' of aid from the king of Egypt againft
NcbuchadnezziaT, a prophet was'fent to denounce the
tinavoidatifle captivity* of Zedekiah, and the dcfolation
of tfic city **. It is enquired, was that year fabbatical ?
Anf^ver, It was the third after the pafJ, and the fourth
before the next feptenary releafe. Though neither of
the fpecified years concluded a cycle, the operations
ftewthe times of the circulating repetitions.

3f. In the fourth of Joiakim began the 70 years cap-
tivity of Judah : " To fulfil the word of the Lord, by
the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her
fabbaths ; for as long as (he lay defolate, fhe kept fab-
bath, to fulfil three fcore and ten years +•'*

Hence it is certain, that 70 returns of years, facred
to reft and relf^afc, with the remiflion of debts, and the
reeovcry of cftates, prior to the fourth of Joiakimi had
been fucceffiveJy negleded. The years of fowing and
reaping, correfponding to 70 fabbaths of years, are
440 : and 420 + 70 =; 490. From the fecond of that
reign* A. M. 3401, which was fabbatical, deduft 490,
tbe <lifference, 291 1, fixes the firft continual omiffion
of tfaofe pious (blemnities to the firft of Saul.

It remains to he Oiewn, that all the fabbatical years;,
of which mention occurs in hiftory, pofterior to their

♦ Jer. xxxiv. 8— ai. f 2 Chron. xxxvi. ai.

refloration

ibS Chronology.

r«&oration by Nehemiah, were computed by the new
feriet.

It is not certain, whether the lands enjoyed a
paufe from cultivation, during the 2ift of Artaxerxes,
Every probability lies on the other .fide* The people
(not having that article of reform in contemplation,
before the reading of the law, on the feveral days
while they were folemnizing the feaft of tabemaclesi
in that very year and month, when that covenant of
reformation was ratified) might not be provided with
the means of returning the money due upon mortgaged
inheritances. This circumftance, alone, might indues
the princes of tribes to defer the fabbatical folemnity,
till fix (eafons of fowing and reaping (hould elapfe. This
permiflion w^s granted, after the partition of the land ;
and after the re-eftablifhment of all thefe ordinances^
the like indulgence might be expedient and neccflaiy.
But this concefTion, though admitted, does not afieft
the argument. For if the 28th of Artaxerxes were the
lirft aQual year of reft, releafe, and redemption of he*
reditary property, yet ftill the 2ift is the true fourceof
computation.

Another preliminary remark, it is proper to fug*
gell. The feptenary cycles were never, perhaps, nx>rt
regularly obferved in the days of the Judges, than in
the times fubfequent to the adminiftration of Nehemiab.
Ordinances fo infeparably conne£ied with humanity^
juftice, religion, and feoular intereft, would, on this
laft account alone, though all the other motives had a
lefs powerful influence, be moft pun£lually obferved.

That

New Series ^^SabAatical Years* ic^

That people was no fooner fubjeft to a foreign yoke than
put under tribute* In a (late of unavoidable dependence,
exemption f|t)m the taxes of the feventh year, the
Jews always implored, atid, for any thing now known,
it was ever granted, as an equitable indulgence* A
few infiances, in the chronological order, are fubjoined.

A. M.

Sabbatical cycles reftored, 2 1 fi Artaxerxes 3565

Firft reft for the land, and releafe of fervants 7 3572

Alexander remitted the tribute of the fe-T ^

venth year, Jofcphus, Ant. xi. 8. 5. J ^^^ ^ ''

Bethfura furrendered for want of ftore in'

the feventh year, i Maccab. vi. 49. ^168 3845
Ant. xii. 95*

Siege of Beth Dagon continued to the year"! g «
of reft, Ant. xiii. 8, i. War. i. i. 14. J '^ '

In a famine of the feventh year Herod tookT g
Jerufalem, Ant.xir. 16.2. &xv. 1.2. J ' 397

A famine in the feventh y^ar, becaufe theT

feed of the foregoing feafon perifhed in s 14 3985
the foil. Ant. xv. i6. i. - - J

Year of the crucifixion - - 5^ 4^4^

Tk£5£ computations, conftrufled 01^ true chronolo^
gical principles, give to the poftulates, above aflumed,
all the certainty of infallible felf evident axioms. As
fuch they are here repeated.

I. Archbishop UQier unhappily antedated the
feptenary cycles, in either feries, the one by feven, the
other by nine years, which entirely defeats the fubfer-
viency of both to hiftorical arrangement.

7 ^, By

no - C H R O N O LO C Y.

a. By a ndb* unjuftifiable abbreviation of one reigv»
and the proportional enlargement of anotI>er,. biAoricat
order is violated in favour of a hjpothefis, vifionary,
fallacious^ and repugnant to the evidence of every
authentic record. This artful and arbitrary tranfpofi-
fion of numbers brings the beginning of the iaiDous 70^
weeks nine years lower than their true epoch ; and
this turn protra6)s the currency of thefe weeks as much
beyond that point in hifiorical time, where, by every fair
mode of reckon! iig, they ought to end. If four years -
taken from tlie date of the creation be refiored> -the
metachronifm will amount to 17 years. Th^ refiik
disjoins the natural connedion which fubfifts between
the oracles of prophecy and" the report of faiAOry.
From different terms may this memorable proj^berical
■period be computed, in the defcending feries.\ ' fiut
with the crucifixion it mud end. Allow 21 yearsr for
the reign of Xerxes, and 41 for tliat of his fop,
Longimanu$» the artificial confufion in the ABsala, for
this period, disappears, and every obilro^oa toajuft
arrangement in the afcending feries is reoioned. JSaly
and certain is the operation. From 4041 dedu£l 490^
the remainder, 355 1, denotes the fevcnth of Arttxettes,
as before.

3. Sir Ifaac Newton and others, taiking it for
granted that the fabbatical years of Nehemiab Ive^ a
continuation of the ferics begun by Jofhua, have in-
advertently combined two eminent chronological dia-
rafters, which if kept diftinft, (as every hiftoricai crite*
rian of thofe times requires), would have been fuffidienc

either

New Series of Sabbatical Years. i^i
cither to prevent fffj:orjp(k^m}R.akes in the chronology
of our Lord's life and mimilry. , Uiher had involved
thq fubjefb in fucb^perj^lexity and confuuon as to defi^at
the primary uH^s^^and -en^s^of all the fep^enary. periods,
whether meafured by. weeks of days, or. of y^ars. Sir
Ifaac Newton, at ^ venture, aflumed the poftu)ate, that
a fabbatical yea^ ch^radt^rifed tbajt pf the cruclnxioq,
without the leaft apprehenfion, thfit fuch years were
computed from mo different fources.

The 7a weeks of Daniel begin and etid In Abib, or
Nifan, of the floored Hebrew year. This criterion is
common to each part o{ the entire number, and confe-
quently to the 7Qth or^laft week. The prophet had no
Tetfofpe£l to the original ardinance concerning periodi-
cal reAs for the lands releafe for bond fervants, remif-
fiop of deb^Sf &(?. i — ufages whiqh had become obfolete
almoil fix . centuries before his time. Nothmg lefs*
Of his coDpmiiTton it was the ultimate oDJe£l to define,
by certain nat^5 of number^ a point in remote futurity,
when a notable perfenagc, often foretold by former pro-
phets, and then firft denominated the Messiah,
Jhould he cut off^ but not for himjelf 9s the fignal of a
momentous revolution foon after to fucceed.

Natural it is to conjeflure, that a predifliop of
^ents^ fo grand and awful, would roufe the attention
of every inquiCtive mind, to unfold the myftical terms
iq which it was delivered, and, if poiCble to afcertain
the time of its completion.

From the firft. year of Darius the Mede, A. M. 34.71,
when this prophecy was emitted, to the feventh of

LK>ng!manus,

iia Chrokology.

Longimanusi in 355 19 when the firH of the 70 week!
began, is an interval of 80 years. Ttom the month
Abib, in the year la ft mentioned, count forward 13^
years, the reckoning is continued toTizri, in tbeaift
of the fame Longlmanus; — ^that very month, when
Nehemiah, with the concurrence of the princes, priefts^
Lcvites, and the coIIe6iive body of the people, entered
into a curfe, and into an oath, that they would leave the
feventh.year, and the exa£lion of every debt*. Thus
is the coincidence of the laft year of the fecond pro-^
phetica! week, with the firft fabbatical year, in the feries
from Nehcrniab, dcmonftrated. It has been already
fhewn, that every fabbatical year, in the original feries,
falls in the center of a prophetical week from the date
of Blzra^s commiflion. According to thfs tule the fe»
venth of the original feries rauft likewife be the fourth
of the 70th week, from the 21ft of Artaxerxes. In
the firft year of this week John the Baptifi began his
miniftry, in the month Abib, A.M. 4034. Add 3^
years, the reckoning terminates in Tizri 4038. About
the time of the vernal equinox Jefus was baptifed, and
foon after opened his commiflion to proclaim the ac-
ceptable year of the Lord, in the fynagogue at Naza-*
reth. Prolong the computation downward, from that
cardinal point, 3I years more, the crucifixion is fixed by
infallible chronological characters to the beginning of
Abib, 4041 : the latter part of which year vras, by
the new feries, fabbatical.

• Nch. X. a9— 31.

To

New Series of SabSATICAL Vears. tti

To prevent the cenfure of audacious prefumption,
tn controverting the authority, not only of archbiOiop
Uflier, but of Sir Ifaac Newton, and of Aill more re-
cent writers, eminent in the republic of letters, the
author judged it neceflary to elucidate the chronology
and hiftory of our Lord's miniftry, and that of his fore-
runner, by evidences derived from genuine records.
The refult is, that the laft prophetical week, divided
into two equal portions, comprehends and exhauft^
the duration of both, in exafl: harmony with the pro-
phecies of Daniel, the teftimony of the Evangel ills,
and the repetitions of the three famous feptenary
cycles, that of natural days from the creation, of
aftronomical years from the divifion of Canaan, and
alfo from the 2ift of Artaxerxes, rightly computed.
To afcertain the true fources of thefe circulating pe-
riods, has been a work of labour and patience. But
no merit is claimed from the difcovery. That the
minifiry of John the Baptifi, and of Jefus Chrlfl, was
circumfcribed within the limits of feven years, has»
from time immemorial, been the uniform belief of
plain unlettered Chriftians, and of the learned before
the reception pf an erroneous chronology, which the
accurate arrangements of Dr. Prideaux have not been
fuffi^cient to explode. The fubjeft is now brought to
the ted of Arid calculation, and fubmitted to the tri*
bunal of impartial criticifm.

From Sir Ifaac Newton to Dr. Jofeph Prieftly, a
great majority of the writers, on the chronology of
the Evangeliits^ has incurred the imputation of adopt*

I ing

1X4. Chronology.

ing ambiguous principles, and of relling in abfurd
conclunons ♦. Tliey generally compute by the Dionj-
fian era> and the Catonian years of Rome; and la
comprefsy within too fcancy limits^ the interval from
our Lord's nativity to his paflion. Thus the miniftry,
either of Chrift or of John, or of both, is, without
necclTity, and contrary to hiflorical evidence, abridged.
But if feven years be allowed for both, and this period
brought down to April A.M. 4041, coincident with
the number of the Jul. Per. 4746, every difficulty b
furmounted, confidently with every criterion of time.

• An eminent commentator on the Gofpcls, conteraporarf
with both and inferior to neither in Biblical criticifm, Dr.
Pearce, late bifhop of Rochefter, incurs this cenfare of adopt*
ing contra<5tcd epochs, and deficient meafures* Dodwdl IukI
framed the Chronology of Veil. Patercnlus to an afrecaieqt
tvitb VaiTo's Computation, which makes the firft JnliAn jr^ar
rtiTi parallel with 709, and the 78th with 7S6. The Right Re-
verend Critic, with a rafb, unil^ilful hand, accommodated the
Chronology of Jofephus and Patercnlus to the Catonian
fcheme, which retrenches two years from the Varroniaa. Ac*
cording to him Chrift was bom in the 41ft Julia* yc9r» ^d i^f*
fered in the 74th ;•— not as the truth of computation requires ;
—in the 40th and 77th.— Thus is the firft, and confequently the
15th of Tiberius, anticipated by two years ; the crucifixion by
no lefs than five : and the refult is, that the 70th and laft pro-
phetical week began with the month Abib, about the middle
of which the Melliab was cut off. Thus, iw dtk€ta the mimftity
both of Chrift and his forerui^n-.-r is anticipated, the dear i^^
terpictation of a very coherent prophecy diftorted, the wb()lef
computation by fabbatical terms fet alide, and the moft coiw
fiftent hiftory ever written by the pen of man, inrolved in-jl.
deep gloom of artificial darkntift.

CHAP.

( 1^5 )

CHAP. II.

Chronology of the Greek Empire.

THIS mpnarchy, founded by Alexander of Mace-
don, rofe into political importance on the ruins
of the Perfian. He is the mighty king, of whom it
had been foretold, (257 years before the event), " that
he fliou]d fiand up, rule with great dominion, and do
according to his will *." The fupremacy of Provi-
dence is wonderfully difplayed, in overruling the wills
of princes, and in rendering their enterprifes fubfer-
vient to the accomplifhment of its gracious defigns, even
when the means employed feem to human wifdom ina-
dequate, or of a contrary tendency,

** This kingdom is compared to a leopard
to Cgnify its fiercenefs. Its four heads and four
wings fignify, that it (hould be divided into four king-
doms ; for it continued in a monarchical form, during
Ac reign of Alexander, of his brother Aridxus, and of
his young fons, Alexander and Hercules; and then
brake into four kingdoms, by the governors of provinces
putting crowns on their own heads, reigning over
their own provinces;— d^g|NEi C^flander over Macedon,

■

• Dan. xi. 3,
>- I % Greece,

life Chronology

Greece, and Epinis; — Lyfimachus over Thrace and
Bithynia; — Ptolemy over Egypt, Arabia, Caclefyria,
and Palefline ; — and Scleucus over Syria*.**

Short was the duration of the monarchy ;(horter
ftill that of the four kingdoms. Each of the felf-created
fovereigns vainly afFe6led to be Alexander ; and, not
content to prefidc over a part of his dominions, ftrove
to acquire the whole. Confederacies, ratified without
fincerity, and fufpicions which artifice could not con-
ceal, prompted the antagonifls to hoftile meafures*
Hence a collifion of contrary forces, fatal to all the
parties, of whom none could be fatisfied with any thhig
lefs than univerfal dominion. After a (hort fpaoe of
^bout 19 years from the fubverfion of the Perfian Em-
pire, the refult of difcordant counfels, and of arms

*
polluted with the blood of millions, was the formation of

two independent principalities : Syria, where Sel^ucus
cre£led his throne ; — and Egypt, of which Ptolemy
Soter retained pofleflion.

• • •

In the Books of the Maccabees thefe two prinqipa-
lities have one common title. The kingdom, of the
Greeks: Its name is, from one of the .foyereigQS»
called the era of the Seleucidae. By it both the|c. au-
thors compute, the one from the 12th, the other fxom
tile 13th, after the demife of Alexander t.

* Sir I. Newton on the Prophecies, p. ag. - »- • i- ■

t Dr. Prideaux explains the reafon of this variatioii?«l irfe-
ikoalngby the era of Seleucus, and exemplifies it in^iiieKBt
dates^afligned by the two authors for the fame event. Set
Conncx. Ann, 31*.

Ik

of the Gjieek Empire. 117

In the fubfequent fcfaemes of hifiorical tranfa£lionsy
wiih their dates, of coexiflent magi ftracies, and of
chronological numbers, it was found, that the pag6
was too narrow to admit the titles of fevera] articles ;
ipuch lefs the triple column of numerical notations in
Teckoning. The years of the Jul. Period, and thofe
before the Dionyfian era, are, for thefe reafons, una-
voidably fuperfeded, though they are cxpreffed for the
firft and iaft years of each fcheme.

Scheme I.

Historical events from the rise of the Greek
Empire, A.P.J. 4383. Before A. D. 1330, and
AfM. 3678.

Alexander dies in the i8th of Jaddua*s pontificate 3685

Jaddua dies' in the 2d of Philip Aridasus - 3687

AridsEUS dies in the 5th of Onias the H. Prieft 3692

Alex2uider iEgus depofed - - 3696

Slain, with his mother Roxane, by Caflander 3^99

The Pentateuch tranflated into Greek at Alexandria 3732

Pyrrhus expelled Italy - - - 373 5

Hannibal defeats Flaminius at the Thrafymenus 3792

Scipio conquers Hannibal at Zama -^ 3807

Antiochus, the Great, routed at Thermopylae 3818

Carthage and Corinth defolated by the Romans 3865

Syria becomes a Roman province - 3944

Pompcy takes Jerufalem - - 394^

Its walls repsfi red - • 39^5

Herod again takes the city - ,„ ^ J97?

Egypt a Roman province, and the Greek Ero-]\^^ ©
pire unhinged - - 'r397

'' ^ I 3 Thjs

Ii8 Chronolocv

This cothp^ndious feledioA of notable incidents^
taken promifcuoufly from the hiftory of the Jews, Car-
thaginians, Greeks, and Romans, ils a fpecitnen of the
various materials whence the times of events may be
defined by a diverfity of national eras. The computation
U thus brought down to A. P. J. 4683, or the 30th
before the Dionyfian era of our Lord's nativity.

Of this third prophetical monarchy Ptolemy's Aftro-
nomical Canon furnifhes the inquifitive ftudent with ah
authentic chronicle ♦. Even Ptolemy's exquifite col-
leflion betrays fome infiances of fingularity in reckon-
ing, though they feldom involve error. Alexander i£gus
was dethroned in the fourth of his reign, and flain in
the fevetith ; yet the canon continues his government
to the eighth year of the Seleucidan era, and defers to
the ninth the acceflion of Ptolemy Soter, to whom is
alTigned a reign of 20 years. Evident is the impro*
priety of extending the duration and honours of roy-
alty, after the term of a fovereign's degradation ; much
|nore, beyond the period of natural life. This over-

*» tts bcft edition in Englifh is that hy Prideaux, in his Chro-
nological tables, where the years of NabonnalTar are con-
licdted with the numbcti of the Julian period. With refped
to the names of the kings, the feries of fucceffion, and the
length of rcTgns," extremely inaccurate are the air^gemenis
•bf the Abb6 Dofrcnoy ; a writer, who has the merit of coiki-
^rifing, in a very narrow compafs, an immehfe tepolitory df
erudition in chronological antiquities; This is not the Olily
^ridd which exemplifies bis negligence or credulity. But it
ntay feem invjdious to cenfure an ipdividtial^ in a matter whieh
r^fasnMy;

of the Greek Empirje. 119

figlit is efieflually re£lifiecl by afTigning to Sotcr a reign
of 28 years, commencing from the date of the era.

It has already been obferved, that Jofephus, the only
author whofe works, illll extant, contain a full hiftory
of tlie Jewilh nation, is much more accurate in his
account of the high priefts fince the return from Chai-
dea, than in former times. His regifters are not al-
ways complete, or his notations per fed ly exact. In
fuch cafes, however, his deficiencies may be fupplied,
and his miftakes correSed, from genuine fources of in-
formation, here and there difperfed in other fragments
of facred antiquity, or in partial catalogues, among the
writings of the Christian fathers.

" The high priefts of Jofadac's pofterity were 15,
under a popular government, during the fpace of 414
years *."

As to the number of pontiffs, the author is exa6t.
But the period of their adminiilraCion did not exceed

370-
In the fame paOage, the author enumerates, by name,

nine pontiffs from Menelaus to Antigonus, all (except
Mcnelaus) of the Afmonean family. The real num-
ber is ten ; but perhaps Alexandra, as a queen, was, on
account of her fcx, excluded from the priefthood ; for^
in diis period, the chief magiftracy was fometimes
united with the (acred chara£ler, and fometimes kept
difiina.

The duration of the Afmonean period was about 130

years. JofephujS is peculiarly attentive to mark the

• Ant. XX. xo. x#

J 4 ycar;5

110 Chronology

years of vacancy in the pontificate, the length of in*
cumbencies, and what high priefts retained their dig-
nities for life, were fupcrfeded, or held the office as col-
leagues : — notations of f5gnal ufe in reckoning which,
without the leaft danger of fallacy, exhibit every defir-
able criterion of truth. Under the direftion of guides,
uninfpired indeed, yet almoft infallible, a candid and
docile fpirit needs no extraordinary degree, either of
fagacity or labour, iq combine the feveral links in this
part of the great chronological chain.

The report of Ptolemy, Jofephus, the two writer$
ftf the Maccabees, &c. is but huinan teftimony ; but it
is teftimony ftrongly confirmed by the evidence both of
prophecy and hiftpry ; — prophecy emitted, and hiftory
vrritten, by divine infpiration. This portion of the
faired chronology is cpmprehended in the 70 weeks, of
tyhich the termination is fixed by an infallible charafter
of tifpe. To this fure word of prophecy, the preach^
ers and difciples of the gofpel, at its firft publication,
giving good heed, as unto a light (hining in a dark
place^ acquired the full alTurance, that the firft coming
q{ Chrift, in the manner, ' and at the time foretoMf
Turaj. then paft^ Hence the apoftle, reafoning with
equ^ light and force of argument, concludes the in^
fallible certainty of his fecond coming. The particu-^
Jar inference deducible fron^ thefe principles, and ap«
plied to the prefent fubjeft, is, that if the whole period
p( the 70 weeks be clearly elucidated by a 1uminoti$
^9dy pf evidence) from the volumes both pf prophecy

rf the Greek Empire. I2t.

and hiftory, this .one part of the fame period can He
under no fufpi^ion of uncertainty or impofture.

Scheme II.

Coexijient magiftracies in the Greek Empire, y^/ in
Juxtapoftiion with the prineeSi kings^ and priefis^ of the
Jews, from the era of Seleucus,

I.

11.

III.

Syria.

Egypt.

Judah.

A.M.

Scleucus Nic^nor

33

Ptolemy Sotcr

28

Onias I. dies
Simon the Juft

12 370S
21 3717

Antiochus Sotcr

19

Ptol.Philadelphus38

Eleazar

36 373*

Ant. Theus

15

Manaffeh

6z 3758

jSel. Callinicus

20

Ptol. Euergctcs

25

Onias II.

95 3791

Sel. Ccraunus

3

Ptol. Philopator

17

Simon II.

117 38*3

Ant. Magnus

36

Ptol. Epiphanes

24

Onias III.

137 3833

Scl. Philopacor

II

Ptol. Philometor

35

r^on
Mehelaus

140 3836

Ant. Epiphanes

II

146 384*

Ant. Eupator

2

Jud* Maccabeus
Jonathan

152 3848

Demetrius Sotcr

12

Ptol. Phyfcon

29

169 3865

Alex. Balas

5

Simon II.

177 3873

Dcra. Nicator 7

Ptol. Lathyrus

36

J. Hyrcanus

206 3902

& Ant. Sidetej *

r"

Ariftobulus

207 3903

Aicx. Zcbina

2

Alex. Jannxus

*34 3930

Ant. Grypus

27

Alexander

15

Alexandra

M3 3939

Seleucus

4

Ptol. Aulctes

14

Ariflobulus

,249 394$

Philip

9

Cleopatra

11

Hyrcanus

in 396$

Jigranes

18

Antigonus
Herod

^75 397f
282 397^

* - ■

17)247(14 y. 6 m. 11)282(25 y. 7 m. 18)282(15 7*

7 m.

Should this combination of names and numbers
appear, at firft view, lefs perfpicuous than concifc, a
fiew remarks for illuilration are fubjoined.

1/ In the longer reigns and pontificates, fome part,
3t leaft, of one prince's prefefture is coexiftent with
that of the other two ; but not always in thofe of the
^ortefl duration. Such variations are of little moment.

2. The

laa Chronol6gy

2. The names of the kings in the firft and fccond
columns, arc exprefled nearly about the time of their
acccflion, which is computed, rather from the incum-
bency of the high prieft, mentioned in the fame ho-
rizontal line, than from the fpecified year of the world.
The column of numbers, annexed to that of the names
denotes the length of reigns.

3. In the regifter of the princes, &c. in Judah, the
numbers, correfpondent to their feveral names, denote
the years of Seleucus, (from tlie date of that era), co-
incident with the termination of their refpcftive ma-
giftracies, and in connexion with the then current
years of the world.

4. T^E fum of the reigns in Egypt, 282, being
precifely equal to the pontificates, reigns, &c. in Judah,
demonflrates the true quantity of the interval from the
firfi of the Seleucidan epoch to the didolution of the
Greek Empire. Though the chronology is derived
horn different fources, the reports are in unifon. The
reduAion of Syria happened in the 247th of the era,
35 years before the rife of the Roman Empire ; 282—

m = 35-

5. The exadl number of the g^'ernors, in their

Yeparate prefeflurcs, may, without faffifyrng the* re-
giRers, be reduced. For example ; Demetrius Nica*
tor, after a reign of five years in Syria, was removed,
and Antiochus Sidetcs fet on the throne, vho, after an
ufurpation of ten years, was degraded. Demetrius,
being reftored, held the fovereignty five years more.
The fum of their reigns was 20, as in the fcheme.

But

of the Greek Empire. 123

But Sidetes, being excluded, the kings are 17 ; by
which « number, if 247 be divided, the common mea-
Jure is 14 years 6 months.

On IAS III. wore the mitre 24 years ; but was fup-
planted by Jafon, and he, in his turn, by Menelaus ;
for which reafon four years are, in the fchcme, re-
trenched from the incumteitcy of Onias. The fir&
pontiff of this name had been invefted with the primacy
nine years before the era of Seleucus; and Herod
reigned 27 after the redudlon of Egypt, Truth in
computation permits^, in fuch cafes, the omifTion either
of Onias or Herod. Let him, ^ith the ufurper Jafon*
be expunged from the ^'egiller, for this period, 18 fue.
ceflive magiftracies remain; by 18 divide 282, the
quotient afligns to each 15 years 7 mcxiths.

It is to be noted, that the 11 coexiftent reigns in
Egypt were, one with another, 25 years 7 months.
If this common quantfty of feparate reigns in Egypt*
be compared with that in Syria and Judah, for the fame
fpace of time, (nearly fo at leaftj, the jpefult may be
admitted, as a confirmation of Sir Ifaac Newton's pof«
tulate, that the common medium of reigns, fince the
abbreviated duration of natural life> does not much ex«
cee^ 19I, or 20 yeais*

Seventh

( iH )

>

Seventh Age^ of the World.

from the Battle at A^ftum to the Demife of Tiherlus Nero

Cafar. '

C H A P. 1

General Remarks on M^ Chronology tf thh

Period.

TO the 30th yearbcfore the Dfonyfiaii era have the
aecounts of times, and the fates of eitipires, been
brought down, from periods unknown, fabulous, and hif-
torical, as charaQerifed by the moft illuminated Sagj^s
among the Gentiles. Mofes, the Prophets, and £ van-
gelifls, make no fuch diftinftions. Without the leafihe-
fitation, they fpeak decifively of events in paft or future
duriation, from the full belief that the fubjefls of their
reports were events which had, or mott certainly would,
come to pafs. The facred writings are a promifciious
colleftion of prophecies fealed up to the time of their
completion, and of hiftories authenticating, with a won-
derful precifion of places, times, perfons, and other qirr
jcumft^nces, their a£lual accomplifliment.

This feventh age of hiftorical time was, in many
refpeiSls, much more remarkable than all thofc before

Of

OsKERAL Remarks. ii$

or fince* In. no period was a more numerous train of
very important oracles fulfilled ; and no former age, at
leaft, produced more accompliflied hiftorians to tranf*
mit (many of them without explicit knowledge of pro«
vidential predetermination) the fiupendous events which
tbefe oracles had prefignified.

It is here noted, without cenfure, that Ufher, and
moft, if not all, former Chronologers, date thi^ Se«
venth age from the vulgar year of our Lord's nativity.
But may it not, with equal propriety, be computed
from the origin of, the Roman empire, which was
coeval with the introduftion of the goTpel economy^
and fo chara£lerifed in the piophetical volumes J ** I
faw in the night vifions, and behold a fourth beaft,
dreadful and terrible; — diverfe from all the other
j>ea{b ;-^and behold, one like the fon of man came
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of
clays ;<— and there was given him dominion and a king*
dom, that all people, .nations, and languages, fliould
ferve him. His dominion is an everlafting dominion,'*
&c. f With no mean apparatus of prophetical imagery
are the former empires defcribed, prior to their exifi-
jence, in a kind of orderly proceflion, and diflinguiihod
by their peculiar attributes. This fourth is exhibited
at an obje£l of grandeur and terror, awful in itfelf as a
whole, multitudinous in its parts, and diverfe from all
kingdoms. With thefe chara£leriftics is contrafted, in
iSm. fpirit of true fublimity, a co-exiftent dominion,
iiipienie, boundlefs, eveilafiing. No figns concomi*

» Dan. vii, 7-^i4«

tanf.

It6 Chronology.

DMnt, SmiUr, and of equal magnificence, are fjpecified
in the recof ds pf prophecy and hiflory, at the life of
ioy pieceding empire.

OcxAViu^ Cesar, and Jefus of Nazareth, were
i^nteinporary, and born within the. limits of the Ro-
man dominions. Before the birth of either, Syria had
hsen added to the then extenfive conquefts of that en-
t^rifing people (a nation of heroes) ; and Palefiine
though under the jurifdidion of a nominal and vica-
rious king, was an appendage of the Syrian preieflure.
Both thefe perfonages founded a kingdom, with each
of which has been connected the criterion of univerfa-
lily* About the time of their nativity very fanguine^
and very general expe6lations prevailed" of fome one
mighty potentate (hortly to appear, whofe dominioa
ibould be wide as the univerie. Whether thefe ex-
pe^ations rofe from immemorial tradition, or from the
Greek verfion of the Hebrew prophecies, which, for
almoft three centuries before^ had been circulated
vherever that -language was underftood, is uncertain.
One circumftance» however, muft not be omitted,
Thefe perfonages were lio fooner born, than the cfaa-
la&er of univerfal monarch was applied to both.

^^ The day Auguftus was bom, while the fenate was
warmly debarinjg the fubje£l of Catatine's plot, his father
Ofiavius, on account of the flate of his family, came into
the court'ist a late hour. It is a notorious hSt^ that
P. Nigidius, having learned the reafon of the delay,
and the hour of the young prince's nativity, declared,

that

General Remark^. 127

that tbe world had now got m new fovereign."-^
^ JuL Marathus relates, that a few months before hi»
birth, a firange incident, at Rome, prefaged, that nature
was then about to bring forth a king for the Roman
people. Alarmed with the apprehenfion of reftored
monarchy, the fenate palled a decree, that no man-child,
born that year, fliould be preferred. Thofe members,
who fufpeded that this fanguinary refolution might
afie6l their own families, prevented its regiftration in
the treafury, without which form it could not acquire
tbe force of a law t.'*

These quotations are not produced to confirm the
veracity of the affrologers* They, however, authen-
ticate the opinions every where entertained in that age.
The Romans diud Jews confidered the phrafes Tfrrarum
§riisf and Hoira «} iutovftiiin^ as equivalent to the whole
habitable world.

That the like expe&atioRs, at the fame time, were
impatiently chenlbed among the Jews and Samaritans, ^

» »

t Quo natus eft die, qiim de Catalinse cpi\juratioiie :ig?retur
tfi curia, e( pdavius ob uxoris puerperium fierius s^dfiiiflle^^
^ota ap vulgata res eft, P. Nigidium compcrta mora caufa»
ut horamquoque partes acceperit, adfirmafle, Dominum ter-
ranim oH>i natum. — £/ pauh /«/fri«j; — Audtor eft Jul,
Marathus, ante paucos menfej quam naiceretur, prodigium
£iAum RomsB puUice, quo dcnuDciahatur rcgem populo Ro-
mano natt^am partux^re : (enatum exterritum cenfuifle nequU
anno iUo gcnitus educarctur : eos, qui gravidas uxores habc-
rent, que ad fe qUifque fpem traherct, cur^flc nc S. C, ad
lerariuft dcferretur. Suet. Auguft. cap. 94,

is

1*28 CHRpNOLOCV.

is evident^ from the furface of almoft every page of
the four gofpels. Nay, certain fagesrinftru£led either
by traditioriy or the facred oracles, in the faith of a fa-
viour for mankitid at large, were, at length, conduced
by a fupematural impulfe, and an extraordinary me-
teor, from a remote country in the eaft to Jera(alem »
where, enquiring the name of the place which fiiould
give birth to the king of the Jews i the anfwer given^
in a convention of the priefls or {bribes of the people,
was Bethlehem of Judea.

Herod, an alien, who had derived the fovereigaty
from a foreign power, and^ afraid of lofing it, on ac-
count of many tyrannical encroachments on the liber*
ties of the people, was vehemently troubled at the re*
port. Stung with fufpicion, jealoufy, rage, and terror^
he commanded an immediate mafiacre of all the male
children in or about the vicinity of Bethlehem, from
two years old and under. But, by the prote&ion of ever
wakeful Providence, Jefus was previoufly removed into
Egypt.

The gofpel was firft.publifhed within the limits t>f
the Roman empire, then extending frotn ScytlpA to
Numidia, and from the eaftern boundary of Afia to tbei
coafis of the Atlantic. Several centuries, under peife«^
cution from infidels of every clafs, had elapiedt beibce
the Chriftians obtained a civil eflabliihmeiit. Romt
then claimed firft the prerogatives of a mother churchy
^xt of fupremacy, afterwards of univerlality, lafily of
infallibility. In procefs of time primitive truth wag
debafed with berelie^, a pure worfliip with idolatry and

fuperftitiony

General ReIicarIls. t2^

itiperftition, faliitary difcipline With abfurd penances
and civil authority was converted into an engine of
deftruAion* In all thefe enormous corruptioiis is
Rome Antichriftian a gennine type of Rome Pagan. /
In the Aiiguftan age^ or the fulncfs of time, God
fetit forth his S<ln» invefted with a human chara£ler^
and a fpecial cdmmilSon to break down the partition
wail between Jew and Gentile, and flay their, mutual
enmity; not to mention many other purpofes of eflen-
tial goodnefs; What if it (hould be evinced, that the
Augullan age was likewife the fitnefs of time ; nay
even the fitteft of all from the creation to the now ex*
piring century. .

I, Th Roman Govermmnt had lately acquired a new

form.

Its primitive cdnftitution, under fevcn fovereigns,
was regal; Under annual confuls,. republican ; under
tribunes of the army and of the commons, and other
occafional magiftraqies^ partly popular and parjtiy arillo-
cratical. Laft of all^ it was an empire or monarchy^
under one fupreme ruler, invefled with all the preroga*-
tives of royalty, though without the title* This form
of adminiflrafion, as charaAerifed in prophecy, re«
firidls its oommeQcement either to its fir ft, or to its lafi:
period. The firft cannot be the prc^hetical term. For
one indifpenfable criterion of its eflence is neither pri-
ority of order, nor co^exifience, but fucceflion to the
Other threr. The firft feries of kings from Romulus

K began

13^ Chronology.

began about 14S years before the Babylonian empire*
This arrangement is therefore an egregrious prochro-
Bifm.

For the like reafons is the republican fyfiem, vn al}
its modifications, exploded. It was almoil coeval with
the Perfian monarch v» and commenfuiate with that of
Greece. The republican form is fpccificalty diiferenC
from the regal or imperial ; and it is exprefsly afiBrmed^
that identity of charafler fhould be an attribute common
to all the four kingdoms, yet, admitting fucb marks of
diver fity as difcriminate individuals of the fame fpecies*
The laft did a6)uaHy commence immediately afier the
third had loll its political exiftence ; — and it is added^
immediately after it had acquired its true prophetical
ch<u-a£ler, by emerging from its republican form.

a. A reformed Calendar was necejfary fot the Truth

.of Computation.* ^

The primitive, year) as regulated by Romulus, w»
deficient in q^uantity, and inartificial in form« It wal
improved by hi9 fucceiTor) Numa ; but not on ftri£k
ftilronomical principles* Julius Casfar, in the Varro*
nian year 708, and the 45th before A. D. i, fay the
advice of Sofigene^ an eminent Egyptian afttonocncr^
reformed the national calendar, arvd procured its intro^
du6lion over the vrbole empire. As exq^uifitely framed
for popular ufe, the Julian year foon became the model
in computation ; and has, by immemorial prefcription^
been generally adopted ill Europe. It exceeds the na-*
tural year by a few excrefcent-&a£lionaI parts» whichi

being

General Remarks* 131

t>eklg a Well known quantity, have been, and may be^
without limitation of future time, reduced to the ftand*
attl of natufe, by periodical equations *.

In the Annals of the Old arid New Teftaraenr,
have thte chrcmology and hiftory of no prior age bcea
mtoJved in a deeper gloom of artificial obfcurity, thati
the fliort period of Chrift*s life and miniftry. The
moft reverend author, it muft be acknowledged, was in
part mifl«d, even by the moft renowned hiftorians of
the Augufian and fubfeqttent age ; and it may be con- ,
■fidered as a paradox, were it affirmed, that palpable
chronological tniftake$ in Livy, Paterculus, Suetonius,
&c. caa be redlified no othcrwire*, than by indubitable
charaflers of time in the £vange]ift Luke. Such are,
for inftanee, the date of the enrolment before the de*-
mife of Herod ;--K)f the aSfual taxation under Cyre-
niiis ;**-the 15th of THjcriui, compared with the com-
mencement of the 70th prophetical week ;- — the age of
Jefus in the firft of John's miniftry. With all thefe
notations full in his view» the primate (eems to* have put
a veil before his face, and thro\4'n an impenetrable
fliade of darknefs over fome of the moft luminous
pirts of thegofpel hiftory* Nor of it alone; for, by
an arbitrary tranfpofition of hiftorical events, and a
firange cbnfufion of dates^ the fabbatical cycles, pro-
phetical periods, and national aeras, are either rendered

• Of tiic Juliati year, with refpe6> to form, quatitity, and
inecbani£n«.a mora minute account is referved f6r The Prin-
CiTirBS OF Computation, under the article, Ciyil Year.

K % ulblefs,

13% CHROKOtOGY.

ufelefs, or acquire the charader of fallacious guides^ ixt
the art of computation. . [^^ .

How are thefe . anachronifms in the ilpn(ian
hiftories, and in the venerable Author of the An-
NALS, to be correQed?. ;By two infallible dates : — the
reformation of the R^oman calendar ; — aad the demife
rof Tiberius Nero.

But can the quat\tity of this interval be afcertained ?
With the utmoft ea^fe. As each term is Qxed by cha-
rafters of equal certainty, it is a matter of pure indif-
ference whether the intermediate years be computed in
the retrograde or progreflive line. Various and decifive
are the chronological meafures applicable to this (hort
and memorable period. Two are fele£led, in perfefl
agreement with all the reft ; — the JuL Per. and the
years of the Varronian eipoch of Rome.

Tiberius Nero died A. P. J. 4747, coincident with
.U. C. 787. on the i6th March ; .and in the iecond
Julian year, on the 15th March, was Julius Caefar flain
in the fenate houfe, A. P. J, 4670, coincident with
U^ C. 710^ Nero was born about the end of the firit
Julian year, and died in the currency of his 78th.
Dedudl now 4669, the year of Ncro*s birth, from 4747,
the date of bis death, the furplus, 78, is the age of
Nero. Again 787 — 709=78, the refult of the two
operations is the fame ; but a few odd months are iq-
cluded. If, however, the computation proceed from
the death of the firft Caefar to that of Tiberius, the
third, the interval is circumfcribed within the ]iam» of

77 firfl

General Remarks. 133-

yj full y^rs, and one natural day. For 4747 — ^4670
=177 : and 787 — 'jiozz.'jj.

Two queries remain for difcuflion ;: — whether the
bifloriaiis of that and the fucceeding . age, have truly
defined this interval ; — and whether the Metropolitan's
arrangement be confillent with itfelf, with the report of
hiilory, and with chronology.

" Augustus, the fecond Roman emperor, died, as
Jofephus teftifies, after a reign of 57 years, fix months,
and two days *." ** Tiberius died after his predeceflbr
22 years, five months, and three days t."

The fum (57. 6. 2+a2. 5. 3=79 y. 11 m. 5 d.)
exceeds the true quantity by almoft three years.

" Augustus, together with Antony and Lepidus,
governed almoft twelve years, and laftly by himfelf^^^:}:/* //^a
" Tiberius died in the 23d of his reign §.'* " Tiberius
ruled with arbitrary power 23 years nearly jj." After
the confulate of Hirtius and Panfa, Auguflus fucceeded
to that dignity. Add 56 years for this reign, and 23
for that of Tiberius, the fum is 79. But from the
alTaffination of Julius to the confulate of 0£lavius, was
a fpace of 18 months. Thus is the interval enlarged
to 8q years fix months **. — Eafy it were to muhiply
authorities. But falfehood, though attefted by a cloud
of witnefles^ does not change its nature. Can the
fource of this mifiake be difcovered ? The deception is
jobvious^ at firft vie>y. Jofephus, and the author of the

f 4^t xyiii. 1. «, : and War. ii. 9, i. + Ant. xviii.^. 10
I Suet. Oflav. cap. 9. § Suet. Tib. cap. 73. ii.

)| Tacit. Anna), vi. 51. ** Dialog, dc Claris Oratoribus.

K 3 Dialogue^

134- GHRdMOLOGY.

Dialogue^ have fallen into an egregious amplification.
Suetonius affigns to Augufluf a reign of almoft 56 ;
and Tacitus agrees with him, that the 23d of Tiberius
was incomplete. Let the reign of each be computed
from the death of Julius, the interval to that of Tibe-
rius is precifely ^77 years one day, as before. The
error of the two hiftorians laft mentioned is two fold.
They count two deficient years for complete ; and ad-
mit, that a certain portioii of the former reign wa$
common to both emperors ; yet make no abbreviation*
}t is to be (hown, in its proper placf?, that the duration
of the partnerfhip in fovereignty was two years, and no
more. Now as toUflier's computation.

According to him Julius was {lain A. P. J. 4670.
This arrangement happily fets cenfure at defiance. Bm
the reign of Tiberius is continued to 4750 : the difierr
fituie is 80, and the fum too much by three years.
This latter number of the Julian period he conned;
Iwiih A. M. 4040 *, and with A. D. 37, inftead of
1(042, and 34. Such is the fatality unavoidably re?
fulting from his original combination of chrprioIogica|
numbers ; and fuch the wfefulnefs of a reformed Ro-
man Calendar, at that particular time. The Stqefs of
the time, appointed for the manifeilation of Cbriff,
^ight, from the confiderations already Cet forth| be ^
jlpitted. Rut^

• The year of the world, correfponding to A. P.J. 4750^
pugKt to be 4-45' w.hich was the 38th from the true hiftorica|
date of th^ natiyity,

■

3' 4f

General Remarks. 135

3. As the Roman Empire^ and the Chriflian Mra^ were
nearly coeval^ it follows^ that the firji Century if both
was the lajl Stage of the Hebrew Polity.

Absolutely neceffary it was, in virtue of many
unequivocal notations in the oracles of prophecy, that
the prophet, like unto MoCbs, (hould open his cotntcif-
fion, before the clofe of the Jewifli oeconomy.

EcuJALLY neceffary it was, that the age of prefigu*
ration (hould be of a confiderable lengthy before the
Glory of Ifrael, the Light of the Gentiles, and the
Defire of all Nations, (hould be manifefted to the
world.

To the Ifraelites many fignal marks of pre-eminence
had been vouchfafed, ** To them pertained the adop-
tion, and the giory, and the covcnaftts, and the giving
of the law, and the fervice of God, and the promifes ;
whofe were the fathers, and of whom, according to
the fleCh, Chrift came*/* Should the quer)' be repe^ted^
*♦ What advantage then had the Jews ?" the reply is
now no lefs proper, than in thfc apoftolical age, " Much
every way ; chiefly, becaufe unto them were committed
the orades of God+." The line of the Meffiah's ex-
lra6lion was limited to the progeny of Abraham by
Ifaac, and to the tribe of Judah by David. It had
been foretold, that the greateft and lad prophet to be
fent to that people, (hould be raifed up from among
their brethren ; and the infallible teftimony of an Evan-
jj^liil affcrtS) that the Word, made flefh, came unto his

• Rom. 9, 4.-6. f Ch. iii. a.

K 4 own.

^3,6 CHRONOLOGY.

own. Had he appeared among any other people hi^
pretcnfions would have merited no credit. Or, had ^c
i^ppcared to his own^ [el; rot liiocj his own peculiar bro-
therhood, a feparate community, in their own land),

4

pne generation later, when the community was dif-
banded, the land occupied by aUeps, and the temple
(vHiich the defire of alt nations was to honour with his
prefence and miniHry) covered with its own rubbifh :— »
in that cafe, it would h^ve been impoflible to produce
to tbp houf<^ of Ifrael, in a national eilabliihment, the
gistiuine evidences gf hismiflion. . The Ifraelites were
the depofitaries of thofe oracles which defcribed hit
character, and, in a qertain manner, anticipated his hif-
lory. To them,^ i^ a date of difpetfion, he could not
have unfolded, from the writing of Mofes and the pro*
pheis ; from the pfalms, and all the Hebrew fcriptures ;
the things concerning bimfelf. Galilee, and other parts
of Palcftine, ^re defcribe4 as the theatre of his mini*
ijrations ;. ^d there it was requifite that be.fliQuld ap-
ipear a (hqrt time, at Uaji^ before the diflblution of th©
fciyil and religious, polity.

, Th£ time predetermined is both by the prophiets an4
Ijpofilescharaflcrifcd irjdefinitdy as the f att^r days.
By which phrafe is to be underftood, not the confu*
ipAtion of things, but the laft fiage of the Jewifh con-
j^tntioii ;r— the ultimate term beyond which that people
{[ipuld not exiil, as a dillindt and peculiar part of the
|)liman race, in a political capacity.

' >' QoD, whp at fundry times, and in.divcrfe.ip^ajacrs,
Ijpakc unto the fathers of the Jewifli people by the

' ' prophet^

General Remarks. 137

pr<^hcts, hath in thefe laft days Tpoken to mankind by
his Son/* He having finiftied his perfonal miniftry,
committed the profecution of his gracious purpofes to
certain choftn fervants, whom he fent forth to preach
-the gospel to every creature. Eifential wifdom and
goodiief» had onl»inedy that the loft (beep of the houfe.
of Ifracl (hoOid have rhe firft overtures of grace. Thi^
primary article of the commiflion was faithfully ob-r
ferved, ■ during the eight fubfcquent years. But the
houfe of Ifrael, ftill continuing to rejedl, as a colle£live
body, the cornifel of God againft themfelvcs, the apoftles
recolleQing the terms of their original commilTion,
" Ye Ihall be my witneflcs, both in Jerufalem and in
all Judea, and in all Samaria, and unto the uttermoft
parts of the earth ♦," extended the call, without limi.
tation, to the uritutbred Gentiles. << The Lord gave
the word, great was the company of the preachers,
and numerous were the converts, as the drops of dew
from the womb of the morning." But even after the
door of faith was thus opened for the Gentiles, a ma-
jority of the apoAIes devoted their labours to the bene*
fit of thbfe, who- maintained the neceflity of circum*
ciGon, and the inviolable obligation of all the Mofaica^
rhes.

In the mean time, free accefs being granted to the
temple at Jerufalem, and to the fynagogues eflabliftjed
in every city, village, and corner of the widely- ex tended
Roman empire; thither the apofiles reforted on the
^veoth day of the Jewifli week (Saturday), and on the

* Ads, u 8.

firft.

138 Chronology.

firft day to promifcuous affemblies, wherever met, open*
. ing and alleging that Jefus, whom they preached^ was
theChfift.

By a providential di region, and efficacious expedi-
ents, during the lapfc of 37 years, were the temple and
fynagogues converted into i^urferies for the infant
Chriftian chqrch, ** Multitudes believed, both of Jews
and Greeks/* AH that while the difciples of Mofei^
hardened, for the moft part, in impenitence and incre^
dulity, accompanied with an implacable fpirit of perfe«
cntioti, rebelled agaifift the light. At laft the day of
vengeance came. They wtere'caft away, but not finally^
and when the happy time Arrives, what (hall their re-
ftoration be, but life from the dead ?

With the miniftry of John ct)mmenced the kingdcNni
of God. During that week vwas the covenant con*
firmed with MANY. A* the end of the fame week, all
the carnal ordinances of Judaifm were, as beggarly
elements, nailed to the crofs of Chrift, and thenceforth
became altogether unprofitable, even in their prefigu**
rative virtue. Continued indeed for a determined tim^
was their ufe ; but they Were fuperannuatcd. ** A new
convenant had- made the firft old, and that which ^^$
old decayed, and was ready to vanifli away *•'*

' The text above recited, *« God fpake by the prophets
in time paft, at fundry tim^, and in diverfe manners^

• Heb.viij. 15. Geacral tradition fixes the date of tWs Epi''le
to the 7th year before the overtlirow of the temple, apd the
defolation of Jeruralem, by Titus Vefpafian. The text abovt
quoted feems to be prophictical.

to

General Rbmarks* 139

to the fathers/' implies a long (eries of genefations,
under a preparatory difcipline of prefigurative ordi-
liances. What fpace of time was proper or fufficient
for this fort of preparation, infinite wifHom could alone
(determine. Prophecies, being no Ids defcriptive of an
extraordinary charaSer than types, neither the one
teft, nor the other, could have the full efiefl in authen-
ticating a divine commiffion, before the lapfe of at leaft
^ few generations a^d ages. Now, if Chriil had ap«
. peared in the charader of a fufiering intercelTor, im*
mediately afte;r the apofiacy in Paradife, his pretenfion^
(coidd have been verified by no fimilar precedents from
biftory, by no evidence from the records of prophetical
pracles. Was it fit that Adam (hould be the execu*
tidner pf his own Saviour ? Wjas it poffible that the
Saviour, before the multiplication of the firil fanuly^
pould ha^ve martyrs, and the martyrs perfecutors ? But
l^low the appearance of this fufiering interceflbr to
have been deferred to the firfi, (ecpod, or third gene-
ration ; comparatively few muft have been the witnefldu
In an age of advanced population, when the arts of
iranfmitting bifiorical tranfaflions with certainty to fi^*
tiare tin)es, and on 2^ very confpicuous theatre, was Jefus
of Nazareth executed, as a ilate (:riminal, as an impof*
.tor, ^s a blafphemer. The proofs of his innocence and
veracity, were, in a very fliort tim^, no }efs convi]>cing
ihao his fqfierings had been notorious ; and the evi.-
depce, whence is inferred not only the merit of his cha-
rafler, but the injuftice of his perfecutors, never was,
f^nd never can Jbe difproved. 3u$ had he ijjiffered the

fame,

I40 Chronology.

fame, or the like things, in a very early ftage of fociety^
modern fcepticifm might have urged, with every feature
of probability, " That thefe things were done in a cor-
ner, and that the whole was a cunningly devifed fable :*^*
— infinuitions which the apoftlcs very juftly repro-
bate *.

Th AT the appearance of the Mefliah was delayed too
long, the difputers of this world affirm with more plau-
fibility than truth. The efficacy of his interpofition
began with the firft, and will extend to the laft gene-
ration of men. The growth of ignorance, licentious
principles, and profligate manners, was gradual. Had
Chrift afTumed the charafler of a reformer, before civil
government and the light of philofophy had done their
iitmoft, but without effeft, for curing the inveterate
corruption of the world, the ufe and neceffity of fuch
a reformer would not have been admitted. As an in-
termediate difpenfation was the Mofaical inftitution
introduced. "To what end ferved thie law? It
was added,' becaufe of tranfgrefTions," (predominant,
and ever proceeding from evil to worfe in the pagan
world), " till the feed, to whom the promife was madl^
(hould comet.'* Had it not been for this interme-
diate fcheme, corruption would have becomq, in the
* ■ ■ ■ ■ /

awful progrefs of degeneracy, univerfal, total, incurable.
In this cafe, the promifed feed mull have come, without
the harmonious evidence arifing from hiilory, prefigu*'
ration, and prophecy.

, • A<ft8^xxii. %6. % Pet. i.i6. i Gal. iii. 19.

It

General Remarks. 141

It has been (hown, that any age, prior to the law of

Mofes, or fubfequent to the difperfion of the Jews,
.would have been neither proper nor feafogable for the

appearance of Jefus Chrift in the human nature; and
' that no other could have thefe two indifpen fable cha-

rafters, — a fitness and a fulness of the time, than

that in which he did aflually authenticate his divine

million*.
These general remarks naturally introduce the mof«

fpecial and determinate notations, in the evangelical

hiilory of Chrift's life and minillry.

1. Jesus of Nazareth was born in the life- time of
Herod the great, nominal king of Judea, and but a
fhort Ipace before his deniife : and

2. About the time of an enrolment at Bethlehem^
in virtue of a decree, in order to a taxation, by Auguf-
tus Caefar, the Roman emperor.

3. At twelve years of age he reafoned witli the doc-
tors in the temple, at the time of a palTover.

4. The 30th year of his natural life was coincident
with the 15th of Tiberius Nero> and with the firfl; of
John the Baptift's minillry.

* The terms fooa and htc arc relative. If the duration of
the world fhould be prolonged four millions of years, and the
Old and New Tcftament fcriptures, in the original tongues.
Which are exad counterparts, be tranfmitted to that remote
pericdp the truth of divine revelation would nilpbe impaired.
But the objedion taken from the late introdudion of the Gof-
pel would vanifti. For the tranfadtiona of A. M. 4000, would
be refpred to the very infancy of time.

5* ABOtJT

141 CmronOlooV.

5. About the time of the autumnal equinox, wben
precifely 34 years 6ld, he was baptifed.

6* His miniilry of three years and fix montfas ex-
pired with the crucifixion, in the 37th of his age.

All thefe events are comprehended in the reigns of
Herod, Auguftus, and Tiberius, as above *•

• " The cdiA for an enrolment from Auguftus was wifely
ordered by divine Providence> not only to detcrinine the time
of Cbrift's nativity, but alfo bis tribe and family ; both which
were afcertained by the authentic records of two nations : the
genealogies of the Jews, which were preferred with great cx-
jtftnefs; and the archives of the Roman empire, to which the
firft apologifts for Chriftianity made frequent appeals.**^
Waiters Gofp. Hid. p. 17. x

« Some of the ancient apologifts referred to the Afts of P.
Pilate, and the account given by him to Tiberius, concerning
our Saviour. Such appeals, unfupported by vidble and noto-
rious fadts, would certainly have been of fatal Confequence to
phriftianity. The A^s themfelves, or very authentic copies
of them, could as eafily be produced as they were readily
quoted. The Ads of Pilate were called in queftion. But
though nothing of that kind be now in the world, yet that fuch
genuine Adts were once in being is not r^fonably to be d<mbt •
ed. For it appears from Eufebius, that certain falfe and fpu*
rious Ads were fet about to fink the credit of the true, £pi«
phanius mentions fome appeals made by heretics to thefe Ada
of Pilate."— Ditton on thcRefurrcdion, p. 301.

CHAP.

( '+3 )

g<a>WBWMBW»yi*'y»*'»***"'*»'**'<^^r?*PP»'

CHAP. II.

CliRONOLOGY ^Herod's Ufe.

AN account of the times and revolutions of cni*
pires, has been brought down to the 30th year
before the DionyOan aera. A few of thofe explicit,
and infallible chronological cbara£)ers, which fix the
true epoch of this feventh age, with the dates of thofe
fiupendous occurrences which (ignalifed its commence-
ment, and ferve to arrange the hiftory of the firft 64.
years, nsmain for inveftigation. With the hiftory of
three contemporary princes, Herod, 0£lavianus AugQf<-
tus, and Tiberius Nero, is that of our Lord's birth,
baptifm, miniftry, and crucifixion, infeparably conned-
ed. Of each in order,

I. Herod's A>/*.

JoSEFHUS reports in twopafTages, not ipv^iihout ati
aj^rent variation in the number, that Herod died about
the 70th year of his age, or almoft 70 ♦. By both
-Mta^ne hit 70th year was begun. It is afterwards ti>

* Ant. xvii. 8. ir and Wat. i. 3}- r.

be

144- Chronology

be (hewn, that he died in the fpring of the Varronian
7S0 . year ^71 Oy A. M. 4005, and of the Jul. Pen 4710;
Hence deduft 70, the difference 4640 is the date of his
birth. tJfher, and after him Prideaux, bring it lower
by two years, hut neither afligns a reafon for rejefiing
the authority of Jofephus.

2. Made Governor of Galilee.

" AnTIPATER made his eldeft fon Phafaelus go*
vernor of Jerufalem and its precinfls ; to Herod, then
a very young man of 15, he committed the adminillra-
tion of Galilee*.** Uflier and Prideaux, on the att-
thprity of Cafaubon, correft this notation by fiftf-
flituting 25. But both thefe great men, having
miflaken the year of Herod*s birth, ought to haVte
marked the number 27. The prudence, experience,
and fpirit, which he difplayed at his entrance on that
arduous province, did great honour to his abilities and
years. The Varronian year 707 is the true date of thh
his fir ft promotion.

«

3. Different Dates of his Reign. ■■ f ■ . v

In 714 was he created king of Judea by a deed of
the Roman fenate. But Antigonus, the, Ion of Arifto-
fbulus, claiming the right of inheritance and pblTeffion,
difputed his title by an appeal to the fword ; and after
an ineSedual oppofition, with infeViol* force, wasover.
come, taken prifoher, and tragically executed, ih 717.

* Jofephus^ Aut« xiv, 9. a*

Herod

HenMl ' ttoicsforth , letgoed without a competitor, and
']u8:acceffian is mkdned by* both term^.

4. Rebuilds the Temple.

As^an alludon «to,. this date occurs in. the gofpel hit-
.fcpryy in. connexion with . a certain year of our Lord*s
. tnin^ftry, it merits regard, as a chronological charafier.
- "jJEorty and fix years ,was the tero|Je in building *."
^JBy- eyery. criterion pf jdo^e this conference with tfie
Jaws refers to jthe.firft year of Chrift's miniftry* a fliort
.tinie,,ppihaps; a, /e,w months, after the firft Paflbver.
Jofephus alSgas two dates for this great and expenfiye
. MUdert^mg.

«* Ik the fStb of his. reign, Pcrod projefled a ye^
.great workr^^l^c. rebuilding of the temple; and fuf-^
pe£ling that the jews, fo far from contributing to the
, cpfty. would,. Qot confent to his takmgon himfelf the
-iHfhoIecbirges,. called together an affembly of the peo-»
.pk, to. whom he. fignified his refolution* They appre-
hending, that w^re the old edifice once demoliihed, he
tnight either change his mind, or, having begun the
new ftrufiiire, ihoUld not be able to finifh, flrongly re-
monftratedk To convince them of his fincerity, Herod
told thftiDt that he fliould not pull down the fabric, till
all things v?ere ready for the new buildings He ac-
. coidii^Iy provided toco waggons, and employed
X0,ooo of the moft flulful artificers, fione--cutters, car^*
ffAtfiSM^ &c. |br . preparing the materials^ as foon as

^ John, ii. ao*

L they

14-6 Chronology

they could be brought to the fpot. Convinced of fais
rinceritV) the people apptoved with chearfulne(s an
overture fo beneficial to themfelves, and honourable to
their fovereign^.'*

In another pafTage f i different date is expreffcd :
«< In the 15th year of his feign Herod rebuilt the tem-
ple.** Which of the notations is to be preferred ? It
is fcarcely probable, that the hiftorian would compute
Herod's reign from the decree of the fenate ; for the
Jews accounted him an ufurper during the life of An-
tigonus. But, as in feveral parts of his works, Jofe-
phus counts by either reckoning indifferently, fometimes
diftinguifhes the one from the other by mentioning both,
and always ftates three years for the intermediate fpace,
let his fpecified numbers be fairly examined, and a felf-
confiftent inference deduced.

Th AT the arrangements of this very eminent hiftorian
be not raftily difmiffed from the tribunal of impartial
criticifm, two previous enquiries are equitable ; firft.
What is the ufual mode of reckoning in fimilar cafes ?
and next, What might be the point which the' Jews, in
their arguing with our Lord, meant to eftablifh ?

First, from computations in the retrograde feries,the
paffing year, efpeclally about the time of its cbmmence-
ment, is, as the fource of reckoning, excluded. It has
been remarked, that the Je^ws, in the firft year of our
Lord's miniftry, and feme (hort time after the Paffover,
((blemnized, according to Varro, A. U. C. 783*.),' told

* Ant. XV. II. I. f War, i.ai. !•

bimr

faim^ ;that the temple had been then 46 years in build-
ing) as our publick verfion renders their words. In
this view thefirft of the 46 years is included in* 783.
The firft year in the retrograde or afcending feries was,
conlequently, 782.

Secondly, the meaning of the Jews w^s rather to
. amplify than abbreviate the number. This is the pur-
port of their argument : " This temple employed many
hands, during the lapfe of 46 years ; — 10,000 ftone-
•cutters and carpenters, not to fpeak of other workmen in
preparing the materials, before the foundation was laid :
— -befides double, triple, or 20 times that number in
rearing this immenfe pile ; — and art thou able, by thine
own fingle flrength, to demoli(h the whole in three
days ? '

Such is the prefumptive refult of the argument, ac-
cording to the fentiments of our Lord's antagonifts.
Its agreement, or incongruity with the notations of Jo-
fephus, is now to be examined : and for this end the
{cheme fiands as below, for the two terms of Herod's
reign. .

Source of retrograde computation for the foundation
of Herod's temple.

The 46th year ends,"! q The 46th year ends,*! ©
A.U.C. J7^^ A. U.C. J7^2

Dedu6l « - 46 Dedu6l . - 46

736 736

Decree of the Senate 714 Death of Antigonus 717

• tf . _

YearofHerod'sieign 22 Years of Herod's reign 19

L a The

Ha C H R O N O L O 0^ T

Ttts true Iburces of Herod's reigii are, in ihe dif^
titiEi columns, marked conformably wkh the faithfol
report of genuine hiflory ; but by both datesy the years
714 and 717, were refpefiively the firft of Herod.
The computation muft have proceeded fromryt^and
716. On this principle, the foundation of the temple
muft have been laid, neither in the I5di nor i&h; but
in the 23d or 20th of Herod. Thus hr the nOtaHiias
of Jofephus vary from the number fpecified in the
Gofpel. But in favour of the Jewifli hiftorian juftice
demands, that the terms he employs be infierpret£4^C«*
cording to his probable meaning* In a quotation^ al«
ready produced in the way of reference^ he settmrks^
^ that the priefls built the teltiple i^SA£ in i$ months ;<
or in the fecond year from the foundation of iti PxaS^
The author's dates are not now uniformly, without ^^
riation, in the feveral copies, expi^ifed I5^and «Sr -&
It fuppofed, that the Jews reckon^ the 46 years {fppi
the finifhing of the work, the eoaiputatioi»..th«n begifa^
in the year when Antigonus died, as by the fecotid
column, the temple was begim in the i8th and fi^Qked
in the 20th of Herod. The Jews altered their^dj^on
of the temple's age, about 50 years before jofej^m
wrote its hiflory : and if both they and.he commif^fr
millake in numeration, the Evangelift, wha report^ tbe
remonftrance as it was ftated, is not refponfibte. '' If
both parties merit the character of precifion, the>|^
years expired in^ tbe year before Chrift's appearance in
his prophetical office ; and if this were the notion of the
}tws, their Words ought ta be r^hdeiiedi «*Teitjr ted
> ' fix

gf HerodV Ufe. 149

fix vearSrhath this tetnde been built ;'' which fenfe the
original ttxi eanly aamits *.

V.I

5. TiW of his Death.

*♦ liEROD died, har^inff enjoyed, the I^ngdom 34
yean after he had killed Antigonus ; but from the time
that be was declared king hy tl^e Romans, 37, about
the 15th of our November, or the 7th of the month

•*^ '.."1. • •.;,

CiOeU, which is therefore accounted a joyful and feftival
day, becaufe then Herod died, who hated all wife men;
as Edward Lively, a moft learned man, noted in his
Chronology, in n^JVIl niSSjDi Megilloth Tanith,
or; Volume of the Fcaft t."

L£ Clerc afligns the fame dates, with the only dif*
ference of fubftituting the Varronian year of Rome
750, for the laft two chronological numbers in the
Annals |. The number of the Julian period, though
exaS, requires two corrections. It is erroneous firft,
,as put 10 ccmne&ion with A. M. 4001, inAead of 4005,

* 411 Aorifts denote time either paft or fiiture. Thofe
Which exprefs time not future> may, accordmg to the truth of
framipatlcal propriety, lignify time cither paft, or pa^ng. For
Sample, m h lar«f yitnbim^ |y Budxsif* ; << Jefus having been
hm m Qethle^em/* Here is a notation of time fully paft.

lyhy fllOUld not Tl0^«{«iMrr« mm i£ iTi0-iy' Sno^fM^n I nal^ Sre;^

*f llkls temj^e hath been built 46 years.^ The meaning is.
It it a new and firm ftruAure, and may laft ages* Matt. ir. t«
John» ii. ftb. )

f tTfher^s Annals, A. M* 4091. Jul, Per 47x0. as by him

■^ -i $ce Ifift. ^cclefiaft, page us.

' ^ L 3 and

150 Chronology

and fecondly as brought too low by eight months^ No-*
vember inftead of March.

Macnight, and his author Lardner, heCtate as to
the year of Herod's death, concluding that he neither
died before A. U. C, 750, nor furvived 751 ; but conr
elude, that the feafon was the spring. It is here
added, that it was the Ipring before November A. P. J.
4710, of the world 4005, and of the Varronian era
750, In Jofephus the proofs are numerous and deter-
minate ; — a fliort time before a national faft, and before
a paflbver, &c.

Herod being feized with his laft illnefs, and a ru-
mour fpread that his diftemper was incurable, nay, that
he was adually dead, on the very day when the Jews
obferved annually a national faft, certain young men
were inftigated by two rabbis to take down the golden
image of an eagle, v^/hich, to the great difpleafure of
the nation, Herod had fet up over the portal of the'
temple. They, lihder the very probable hope of impu-
nity, were eafily perfuaded, and . accordingly removed,
that monument of idolatry, at noon day, in the prefence
of a great concourfe of the worftiippers. The captain
of the temple, with an armed force, apprehended 40 of
the mutineers, and carried them to Jericho, where Heroid'
then was, in a ftate of extreme weaknefs. The moft
obnoxious were burnt alive, and an eclipfe of the moon
fignalized the night of the execution. In the mean
time a refcript arrived from Auguftus, to whom had been
referred the cafe of Antipater, a fon of Herpd, then
tpnvifled of a confpiracy againft his father's life. The

emperor

^HeROD*j Life. 151

emperor having referred the matter to Herod's difcre-
tion, without recommending any other meafure than
ading as became a father, and a king, by infliding ei-
ther baniOiment or death. Antipater was immediately
executed in prifon. Herod died after five, days; — a
very fliort fpace, but fully fuflBcient for all the inter- •
mediate tranfa£lions. The funeral folemnities over, and
feven days, as ufual, fpent in mourning, Archelaus re-
paired to Jerufalem, and went into the temple at the
time of the paffover ; when and where he ratified his
conformity to the national religion by facrifice, &c. be-
fpake the allegiance of his fubje£ls, received the accla-
mations of all, heard the grievances of fome ; and
forthwith fet out on a voyage for Rome, in order to
have his father's will, appointing himfelf tOi the fuc-
cefEbn, confirmed by authority of Auguftus ♦.

The paffover fell that year on the 12th of our Julian
April ; the night of the eclipfe was the full moon, pre-
cifely 30 days before that fellival. The middle of the
eclipfe at Jerufalem was ^\ hours after midnight, on
the ijth March +.

The fail is a chara3er of the time, of which no

veftige has occurred to the writer of thefe (heets, in the

works of thofe learned men who have laboured to af-

^ certain the date now required. In D. Levi's Rites and

• This is a very brief epitome of the chrotiological no-
tations from Jofcphus. Ant. xvii, 6 — 9. War, i, 33. and
II. I.

t See the calculation conftru<5tcd, in Whillon's Aflronomic.il
Ledures.

L 4 Ceremonies'

I|9 C IftVo'^' O L O d Y

Csrcmotnttd hhp Jews, p. 1*25^ if the fdUowing nn
nUtrkjC fSOdter 13th, tbe day beforrtheieaft of Barim^
is kept a faft, called the Fad of EAher, in comiDCfliO-
l)ttioir>qfiier having (afted three dajn and nights bdbre
Iheivreotto fiq)plicate the l^ng for tkddelivenu^ of
tiie ijemrst who were marked oUt for deftru&ion b^
Haimai» ; .although Efther Med in the firft mdnthy Ni*
(an : but that being the tinie of the paflbvcr, we keep
the feft on the day before the feaft»i' Befidcs^'thi?^
faft differs from all other falh^in the year ; for this" rea*
fisni^bec^fcoh the fabbathday n forbidden ^^\l mailneF
of ihournmg or failing : therefore, wh^eyet^ a feft day
happens to fall on a fabbath, ^cept ii bt the gf<Mt dvj^
of expiation, which fi^rfedes the fabbath)^ it ii^dei^
fensed tilt the next day, except tfai^ laA^ which is-anfi*
cipated two days ; the reafon* of wfaicK isrthis : the day
after bbing Pttrim, which is the-feaift, and the day tefore
being Friday, they conid nbt fimft the fa^'t>ft acctont
pf the fabbatb beginning befote dark^ afnd they being
oUiged to faft till night : therefbre^whisn it happens on
the fabbath, it is kept on the Thurfday before." •

♦ It is worthy of remark, that this yery year, A» U. C,
^Oy the 13th Adar fell on Sf^tiirday, the na(;ional fab»^
bath; and the faft^ agreeably \^ith thefe i^galatibm^
was adoally kepi on the foregoing Thurfday^ the 8tli
of our March. Thus is afcertained the foiemnity
which charafleri^es the time of taking down the goldei^
eagle. It would have been. extremely fa^sfe^Slory, i|[

• Furim in Adar. -

Mr.

9^ HiE,^^Dts L^H 1 5$,

Mr. ^^evi liad iqpfilidit this paflage in Jp&phtx^ toan an^
.nmr&7» m tim^ agn ib very a&cient, and at this^ day

Th£&£ cfaataden of time^^numerous^ difcd» andall
in mufooy diveft of prdiability the arranpniait of
Livelyy Uflieis Le Glerc» &o. buik^ on d)e flend^ an*'
thority of the Rabbifical'fiook on Fafis and Feftivali,

£• ^nf- oM the Tears of this Reign^ as diffirentlji daUiy

full?

Thxs enqmiy is the more neceiTary, as, by taking
ei|^t months from the term of Herod's life, the dura-
tion of hit reign is proportionably ftortened. IB^xxt the
lefult depends on the folution of a difficult problem ;-^
the feafon of the year when he was jSrft created king at,
Rome. From ftmdry circumflances of time incident-
ally mentioned by Jofepbus,, it is pvefumed, that the
F^hiant plaoed Antigcmus on tbe throne oC his father*
^riftobulus, early in thefpring A« U. G. 714 ; and that
tlie'R<)pui &nate decraed that honour (or Herod about
the time of the eafuing fumnper folftice.
, .^H£aQD> preiagingfWhat foon came to pafs, the pre^
ppllent. force of Antigonns, in concert with the Par*
lIlM^ns,, fled to Rome« imploring afliftamee and prote£lion,
In^ bis voyagQ;.{iK>m Pampbylia^ he was in danger of
IhipiKreck from teinpeftuous weather, but efcaped to
RhodeSf- thence lo Brundifium, and hence to Rome,
where ibongs invefied with royalty, he, after a ihort
abode of feven days, went back to Brundifiuro, whence
refuming his voyage, he^arrived at Ptolemais, a fea port
. ' in

154 Ch-uonology

in Paleftine, after a (hort expedition of about three
months. Finding that Antigonu^ had kept his mother,
fiiler, and family, ever fince his retreat, in clofe fiege at
Mafaddy a fortrefs in the tribe of Judah, he haftened to
their relief. His brother Jofeph, who all the while
repelled the afiailants, at laft reduced to extremity for
want of water, had refolved, in defperation, to attempt
an efcape. Put a plentiful fall of rain having fupplicd
all the cifterns, Herod came up in time to relieve his*
friends. This circumftance plainly indicates the fum-
mer feafon. It is here mentioned purely as a conjec-
ture ; for, in the hiftory of the fecond commencement,
more decifive notations occur ; and it may perhaps be
(hewn, that each computation originates from the fame,
^ay of the fame nK)nth in two different years.

The firft of the feaft of feven days, provided by
Antony for Herod, at his inauguration, is by Jofephus
denominated, in two palTages, thp- first day of his
reign, A. U. C- 714 *• It was afterwards, as the ori-
ginal date of his regal honours, diftinguiftied by tlie
title of N ATALIS REGNI, the nativity of his kingdom^, '
In its future repetitions it was celebrated with regal
magnificence ; but none of the hiflorlans fpecify the
dav of the month.

** Herod took Jerufalem, and made Antigonus apri-
foner, in the confulate of M. Agrippa and Canidius.
Gallus, in the 185th olympiad, on the third month, on
the folemnity of the faft, as if a periodical revolution of

♦ Ant. xiY. 14. I. and War, i. 14. 4.

calaniiticai

of Hekod^s Life. 155

calamities had returned, fince the reduflion of the fattio'
city by Ptolemy, after 27 years *,"

It may be enquired whether this were not the anni-
verfary of his firft appointment by the fenate, and alfo
the foUrce of the fecond reckoning ?

AgrippA and Gallus were confuls A. U. C. 717.
That year was the fourth of the 185th olympiad ; and
the Olympic years were always counted from the new
moon before the ftimmer folflice. In the firft year of
the firft olympiad, that new moon fell on the 9th July ;
and the next autumnal equinox on the ift Odober,
After 740 years, or 185 olympiads, the 5th July was
the time of the fummer folftice in 7 17. Whether Jo-
fephus meant the third month of the Hebrew year, or
of the fiege, has improperly been controverted. This
author elfewheret mentions the fifth month of the fiege,
and then reckons only from' the term of Kerod's en-
gaging in that enterprife ; for Sofius had, with a nu-
merous army, begirt the city one full month before.
The third month of the year muft be the true notation.
** Herod * marched up to Jerufalem, about the end of
winter, in the third year of his reign ;}:." " At the end
of the fiege it was fiimmer §•'* This criterion of time
correfponds to the commencement of the olympic year,
and to the third Hebrew month. The hiftorian omits the
yday of the month, though he fpecifies it by a charafter

• Jof;.phu8, Ant. xiv. 16, 3.

t They bore a fiege of five months. War, i. i J. 2.

I War, i. 17.8. § Aot. xiv. 16. ».

then

156 C H.R O K O I. O Q Y

tbeo vmH knowni but now obfcure; M the S0L£;m^.

NITY of the r AST.

The Hebrew feAiVfits-and-fafls, aa well thole of hu-
man as of a divine appointment, are an indifpenfable,
diredory in calculi^tign. Witbput a iaid4l6.tem^ of^
fuch exquifite ufet aiid fo infallible hpth in 'n$ prjqciples
and conclufions, chronology could not have a fifpi bafif.
Mofes prefcribed no fail for the third month ; neither
is any of a fubfequent date to be found in Levi's Ac-
count of the Rites and Cerempnies of the modem Jews.
Jofephus» however, often refers to the &ft of tl^at
month, as folemnized in his time : and it has already
been remarked, that it was enafied to commemorate thp
introdudion of idol-wor(hip into S^unaria, in the firft
of Rehoboam. The 23d of the third month yiras the
time of its obfervance annually. In the year of Rome
717, the 23d of Sivan was cwicident witl^ th^ aid of
June ; and this feems to be tb^ moil prob2d)le date of
Herod's acceifion, whether reckoned from the decree of
tjnt fenate, or from the capture of the city.

Did this conclufion reit on 0^^ doubtful chara6ler of
time, or on th^ authority of an equivocal recordi^
when or by whom written, non^ can t^ll, it might be
fttjeSed as an ideal conje£lure« But with the evidento
astfia§ ^om calculation, from the harmony of iia«
tional eras, and magiilracies, from levend fpecifications
of feafons, it derives every criterion of probability.

Of this complicated difquilition the refult is, tbtt
H^rod died about three months before the end of bis
37th' year from the decree of the fenate, and of his
. i - '. 34.th

*

$4th fifoiii^redafUoci of Jerufalem : ibr 75CH^7f3«
=37 ; and 750 — 716=34 ; from each Temamdek>
three tilosiths are to be dedu£led»

■ :.»

7. Th(t fwigfitng C^utdfiom afffiUedt^ the hiflmcal

Date of Chrifs Nativiij.

In the days of Herod the king was bom John the
i&aptifi) ind Jefos Ghrift about fix montht after *. - In
the fame leign, '^nd but a very'fliort ^ce before its
terminatite, vras Jefus, in bis infancy, conveyed into
Egypt, atnd recalled at the accefTion of Archekus t.
The vifit of the eaftem fages at Bethlehem inuft be

■ Jiefcrred to the iwetval from thefirft to the 40th day
of our Lord's Kfe. On the litter he certainly \was
^ef^Mted ia the temple, whence his pa^rents returned
with him, not to Bethlehem, but immediately to Na-

' karethv in Galilee, and there was intimated to them the
warning for their removal with him into Egypt, toge«
ther with the-reafon of that injun&ion« ^^ There they
continued tmtit the death of Herod j:." All thefe no*
tatioDS juflify the pofition, that, according both to the

' Hebi^ew and Roman computation, Jefus was born in
the year before Herod^s demife. The time of the re^

' cefs in Egypt is a point which has unhappily divided

' the fendmenti of chronologers and critics. All how^
ever a|(rec^ that the retuni thence was immediately fub^*^
fisquent to the death of Herod.

«M '

• Luke, i. f Mattj ii. i— if . t Matt* ii. if.

From

l^i Chronology

From the age of the infants cdinprehended in thd
bloody edi& for a general maflacre in Bechlehem^ and
its precinds, (" two years old and under,?) has it been
conjeflured, that either our Lord was born about two
years before the execution of that edi61 ; or, that Herod
lived as long after. By the latter claufe of the alterna-
tive, the refiderice in Egypt was two years. It is re-
plied to both claufes in common, that, from the capri-
cious humour of a defperate tyr9nt» driven to.madnefs
by difeafes, fury, jealoufy, and the dread of a pplitical
revolution, no certain conclufioa is deducible. Re-
folved, at any rate, not to permit the eficape of one
innocent vi£lim, he extended the terms of the fanguinary
mandate to two years and under ; though Jefus, at the
time, might be an infant of a few days or Mreeks. But
the hypothefis merits a more fpecial and minute exa-
mination*

First ; if our Lord were two years old^ or nearly
fo, at the date of the mandate, his age mud have been
more than twelve when he conferred with the dodors
in the temple, in the year after the removal of Arche-
laus ; which year coincides in aftronomical and hifio*
rical conneflion with the taxation levied by Cyrenius;
Judea having then, and no fooner, become a Roman
province : for //// thfn^ Herod and Archelaus had paid
a ftipulated fum into the Roman treafury, as a yearly
• compofition for all the revenues accruing from the
lands and other property in Judea, Samaria, and Ga«
lilee. While that regulation was in force, no Ro-
man officers either did or could impofe taxes on the

inhabitant!

if Herod*^ Lift. 159

ifnhabitahfs mdividually. Farther, if our Lord*s age
were two years at the date of that cdiftj he was more
than 30 years old in the 15th of Tiberias, or the
firft of John's minifiry. But this charafter of time
ftands, and muft ever remain, invariably fixt on the
infallible bafis both of prophetical and hiftorieal evi-
dence.

Secondly ; fuppofe Herod to have lived two years
after the execrable maflacre at Bethlehem, the whole
chronology of his life, above adjufted by coexiftent
events, almoft to the exadnefs of a fingle itfs is totally
unhinged ; a compa^ chain difunited, and the cohe-
rence of every link violently broken. By what ?— the
authority of a bold and paradoxical conje£lure.
• Finally; in the fpirit of licentious furmife^
which afliimes every thing, but proves nothing, be it
poftulated, in difeft oppofition to the feftimony of two , y

evangelifts, that Jefus was born in the fourth year before ^^f^f^
|he vulgar era, as ftated by Archbifhop Ufher, the confe-
quences muft be admitted ; fuch as, the crucifixion did
not fall within the procuratorfliip of P. Pilate, neither
in the reign of Tiberfus Nero ; though that great man
has protrafted both thefe magiftracies three years be-
yond their final period, if the computation proceed by
the true years of the world.

The feafon of that year, which was fignaiized by the
manifeftation. of Chrift in human nature, is now, if
poflibley to be afcertained. It has already been (heWn
that this event, if fixed, as is ufually done, to the 25th,
and the tragical executions in fo many families at Beth-

lehem^

I^ C H & O N O li Ot^ Y

febem, to the.^th of December, UMDedialely hefaitf
the death of Herod, the flight intb.fgjrpt .was.pmr
both to thefe executiooe, and to the«49tb;dix of jCbciftff
Ufc, or feoond ^f February, the HBQ9i-app^Afeed for. Wa
]nre(iBAtation in «he temple. It rwa«.in like mmutt
iiiggefted, that the tine aS^oed for. tfaeJlii^jbicrr^f
the innocents, contradi£ls no report of hifloryi comman
oi^ caoonical) hut flili this cooceflion doih JM>t..iflert
the truth of- the computation*

«« Tii£ tknea4>f the birth and paflba of Chnft»>ilpith
•fiich like nicett^,; being nottoaterialito^iiligioii^ivafe
but little regarded by the GhriEfttansof thetfrAitge.
They who began firil to. celebrate thctfl, placed tbtm in
the cardinal points of the year ; aslihe ananneittiOfL of
the Virgin Mary, on the 25th of Marc)i^-wliichf. when
Julius Caefar correAed the calendar* mn- tho jwnaX
€quinox */' Whether the primitive . UAmh Wher
from ignorance of exaS periods iti HckoHak^ or-firom
inattention to terms clearly defined, or Jftftly# cffOBL- a

. prediledion in favour of u&ges,. previoofljr-eMbWIlid
by prefcription) is a frivolous enquiry. Gertaia it/ii«
that in matters of chronok^cidpredfioit»' i t| i e i f :i WPiiif
or fragments of tbem* fliil piJefenrcd,; do .not
fhem expert, much kfs in£aIIiUe« TIm^ great
proceeds : ^^ Neither was. there any certan
about the years of Chrift. For the^ ClmBmmti

:^firft began to .enquire into fiich .tiliiigs»ar

rAldxandfinus^ Origoi, TertuUktti' Jed.

lintiiiif

* ^ HiKbD*^ Life. ' X%i

bhtfift; Jferbliff'Auftin) Suip; Severds, :aiid as many ^
tjlart thfc a^athidf Chrift te the 1 5th or i6th of Tibei
riii^'hiake Chrift to )i2ive preached but oii6 year, or^t
inoft but two.** *^What cohfidence is due to the af range*-
neini of'thofe tiiehi in othet gdod qualities howe^e^r
v^enenUe^ who ccmne^i the time of- the paffioa with
tii0:F5th Kit 16th of Tiberius ? Yet with juil as little
deference to the opinion of the pafTmg and fubf<h]Qent *
generations; certain authors, of no fubordinate rank ifi
the fcate of literary fame, venture to honour; with their
fsndion, the no lefs abfurd conclufion, that Chrift'ii
miniftry was comprifed within the narrow fpace of one
or two years. Short indeed was the feafon of his life
^nd ufefulnefs. But why circumfcribe both within at
boidpafs difproportionate to his hifioi-y \
-*In the eaftern churches one feftival only Was apprb-
priattd to thte commemoration of the nativity and epi-
phany» or manifeftation of Chriit to the Gentiles, in
the perfons of the wife men from the Eaft. The 25th
Secember was firft obferved as the anniverfary of the
incarnation in the. weft. The more remote in local
,iituation, the lefs is the authority of this ufage. But
'^iboib of the proteftant churches who adopt it, rather
'^C^ifider it as iin inflaiice of conformity to ancient pre-
Whi^^li^) i^han exprefs their convidion that the parti*
^^iWai^^dayi iipi'obferved^ is the true chronological date*
^«. WdATEV^R^'be. faid as to the time afligned for the
nf^Hyidoni of thc^bafaes at Bethlehem, the date of the
nativity, of the prefentation in the temple, and of the
flight iato Egyp^ moft be placed as much higher as the
^r > x^r^ M gofpel

r62 Chronology

gofpel hlllory requires, to give confiftency to its part$»
Forty days are fufficient ; and this Gorreftioa, obvious
to common fenfe, will conned the time of our LordV
birth with the 15th November- . .

As this alteration is propofed for redifying the cfaro^
nologV) not for introducing innovations hi pralSace^
and, as both prophecy and hiftory are iilent conccmiiig
the prectfe day of the event now under invefttgi^oii^
it may be requifite, with the Chriftian fathers, to prefer
fome one of the four cardinal points, in coincidence
with fome one prefigurative fervice of the Jewifii
church. The Feall of Booths, both in the contiguity
of the time, and in the fimilartty of prefigurativ^ ce«
re monies, is the moil probable of all*

The pafchal lamb, with one of its appendant obfer*
vances> the oblation of the firft friuts wai, as an in&ttible
interpreter of the Hebrew ritual affirms^ a &rikiiig
reprefentation of " Chrift, our paffover, fecrificed fcfg
us, and then rifmg from the dead as the fivft fniils of
them that flept." The feaft of weeks, kept OA tfae
50th day from the offering of the firft fruits year by
year, together with the giving of the hw from Sinai^
on the firil year of its inflitution, adumbrated the conf^
munication of the Holy Ghoft, in his wonderful- opes*
rations, on the day of Pentecoft, at Jerufaletti* In
both thefe cafes, the antitype realifed every circumlhince
in the types, that of the time not excepted. Scarcely
is it fuppofable, that the Feaft of Tabernacles had ni>
reference to the incarnation of Chrift. Thofe who
maintain the negatives will be reduced to Ibe dbhtditf

of

t)f ]frtKtting a very frigid gTofs on a vcfry fignificant allu-
fion of an cvangdift, " The Word Was made flefh, and
rfWelt {i(ntiiv(a<T€Vy pitciied his tent) among us ; and
vre beheld his glory/' &c. Exclude the circumftance
terative to the appointed feafon of this folemnity, the
analogy is obvious. Bpt connefl: it with the reft, the
ihcampmeht, the pillar of fire, a temporary refidence
£ttiHi^ k pilgrimage, to which Chrift*s natural life was
nearly equal, the ailufion acquires propriety, refemblance>
fignificanee, and energy.

To omit the words of an eminent writer in the paft
centtiry, than whom few poffefled more original ideas^
and iiofie furpafled him in the faculty of interpreting
^wrativc language, were unpardonable.

^*' It is incredible that this principal feaft (hould not
be a type of fome principal thing concerning Chrift, as
^cH as the feft ; it being as folemn as either of the
dther two, nay, rather the chief of the three, as having
a more extraordinary courfe of facrifices than either of
the other ; yea, one day's more continuance, it having
eight days. To it nothing but his incarnation and na-
tivity can be applied ; and it may be the eighth day
wis ^ded, as figuring the time of his circumcifion ♦»
But ft wiH be objefted, that the birth of Chrift was in
December;: and the feaft of tabernacles was kept the

• The worthy author might have mentioned another cir-
cumftance pf pre- eminence peculiar tp this ordinance. It wa«
liftercd in with the apparatus of a great day of expiation for
all Ifracl. For the Redeemer a body was prepared, that he
might be capable of fuffering for the fms of the world.

M 2 15 th

i64 Chronology

15 th of the 7 th month, which anfwered in a manner
to our September. The interval is three months. In
anfwer, give me leave to relate, not my own opinion^
nor as my own, but that of the moft learned chrono-
logers ; the fum of which is, that the birth of our Sa-
viour was at the time of the feafl of tabernacles, ^or
firft, it is apparent in the primitive church was neither
certainty nor agreement about the time of our Lord's
nativity, as Clemens of Alexandria witneffeth ; and
himfelf faith, that thofe who enquire more exa£Uy, do
aflign the 25th May. Others aifigned other times, as
Epiphanius witnefleth, 400 years almoft after Chrift :
fo long, therefore, there was no certainty. After the
time of Conflantine, the day we now obferve waa
chofen, and firft in the Latin church ; but not in the
Greek till the days of Chryfoftom, who made an pra«
tion, yet extant, upon the firft obferving of this day*
which he fays they then received from the Latin
church. If any would know, after fo much wici^r-
tainty of opinion, how they came at laft to.refolve
upon this day, they will tell you, that it was upon a
falfe fuppofal, and a miftaken ground, &c.^"

From hiftory and analogy every probability indicalea
the autumnal equinox, and the feaft of tabernacles in
the year of the Julian Period 4709, or the 749th of
the Varronian era. On thefe principles eafy it were

• Jofeph Mede's Works, p. a 66. Thofe who defire to ob*
tain fuller hiftorical information, may perufe the fequel of this
author's argument, or Bedford's Chronology, p. 4x6— ^i^S*

to

of HerodV Life. 1(55

to bring the fubjeA to the teft of calculation. But
mtnutenefs is not here afFe£led. By this computation
the-age of Chrift, at the time of Herod*s death, was
fix months, the didance between the oppofite equi-
noxes.

A TERM, or firft point in reckoning, either aflumed
or difcovered, will be fubfervient to a juil arrangement
o( hiftorical events, from this era of the nativity to the '
demife of Tiberius.

,' : . 7.. Arcbelaus.

His acceffiOn may be dated from the vacancy of
the throne, about the 20th of March. Jofephus, in
oae paflage, afligns nine - years to the duration of
hb government, in another, ten*. In each is related
a dream concerning ears of com eaten by oxen, the
numbers of both being exprefTed with the like va*
nation. ; That (ingular dream, with its interpreta-
tipn by Sin^on the Eflene, who faid it prefaged the
length of his reign, Arcljelaus reported to his friends
fcqne titjje before his removal to Rome. But the no-
tations of time, as contradidory, are indecifive. Other
felf-CQnfiftent dates, however, occur in the fame au-
thor, and in favour of the larger number, i . In the
Hiftory of his own Life t he relates, that bis father,
Matthias, was born in the tenth of Archelaus* go-
vcrtiment. 2. That in the currency of that year, hot
©ply the chiefs of the people in Samaria and Judea, but

• War. ii. 7. 3. ; and Ant. xvi. 13. a. f Se(5lioa i.

M 3 even

l66 C H.R^O N OHUtP O Y

even hi$ own brothers^ preferred a complaint agauil^
him, of tyra{iny» and other idftances of roaladmimfira^
tion, at C^far'B tribqiial ; who difpatched a.iAefieoger
to apprehend his perfon^ and .condud . him to .floai^ ^*-
Thefe orders being executed, Archelaus was tried^
found guilty, and fern into exil^ «t Vieone in Gaul.
The time fpent in tranfmitting the cditlplault of. griev«
aoces, in the voyage oi th^ meflengfrt in bjf ittifrQ,
with the prifoner, and in the formalitiaf of l^..t]fial|t,
may fairly be fuppofed to have taken up the remainder
of that year. 3. That PhiKjr, the brother of Archelaus^
i\^ i^lhd lotH of Tiberias after he hikl'liceaitetaiith
of GclUlbnitii, and ot6er printi^lftti^, 37 ifeant. Tbd
sij^th off Tiberius is compki<ed f^m the deatli i^ iAu**
g^lluisi ahd Mdt ih'the year lifteir tiie cr«6ifit|M| pr<^
cifely 37 years from the deilb of Herodf ttr^^ii^g fWir
day^, s^nd a*) after the banifhment of Arcbtkul t'^-si^l
which notations evince^ that the length tt bis ^^
was ten full years, ending in th^ 11th of C^r lK>|t}^»
life, and 7th of the rulgar era,

$• Procurators in Judea from Archelaus to the tfeatb ^

Tiberius,

^' ■

Their number, and years of magiftracy, arf CcX^
levied from Jofepbus and Prideaux*

Coporlms . . 2 Brought forward 6

Marcus Ambivius 3 Valerius Gratus 1%

^nniusRufqs » i I'ontius Pilat^ «• IQ

^7

* ^nt. 3^vii, 1 J. |, f Ant, xviii. 4. 6.

Tbif

' ^HEROji*/ Lift. ' I'S)

Thh (bm is the interval from the baniffmiem of Arche-
laus to the death of Tiberius Nero, in the year after
<!ie fci-crcrBxion, But it is requifite to fpecify a few of
tHe inteffnediate 'events, coincident with certain events
of our Lord's life.

. . f

•' u

: 9« Canfifcatisn tf Archelaus* Efiale^

JuDEA* was adtted to' the province of Syria, and
'Abguftus' fent Cyrcriius*, who had been in veiled with
die Agnity of a confu!, to levy a tax in Syria, and fell
'the lioufe of Archelaus. With him he fent alfo Co-
ponius, 6l th6 equefirian order, to have fuprettie power

• < * •

over the Jewsf, even that of capital panifhment, with-
out Reference or appeal to the emperor, as had till now
beenth'ifc lifual pra&ice, in the 37th year of Cefar*8
yi£lory over Antony at Aftium t. ' This author often
charaderifes the date of the fame event, both by car-
dinal and ordinal numbers. From the battle at Afliurti
to the procuratorlhip of Coponius, excluding both, the
interval is full 37 years, being the 38th of Auguftus^t
reign, the twelfth of our Lord's age, the firft after
the degradation of Archelaus. In that year, at the
time of the paffover, which was the lath return of
that feftival from his own nativity, and alfo from
the deceafe of Herod, Jefus was found in the tem-
ple, fitting among the doftors, both hearing their
communications, and aiking them quefiions. Jofephus

* Quirinus, Lwke, ii. a.

f Ant. xvU. 13. I. xviii. r. t. and ch. ii. i. War. H. %, i.

' M4 cha-

chafafterjfes the accefCon of Arcbelaus, and an evar}<^
gelljl the firft of Coponius, without naming him, by
Op0 common criterion — A passover ; — ^and thiiSf
l^ithout a fradional par^ of time| i^ the iptern^ediatp
(pace defineci.

}^f the fame chapter, and in the fame year, the fame
evangelift m'e^ionsUhe'fii'ft adual taxation in Judea,
which th^n, and ng fponer, was united with the pi^fi-
deticy pf 5yri^, bjit under | diilinS procurator *. Th»t
tax, efpecially from the manner of colle£ling it, by Ro-
p^n officjsrs, from houfe to houfei was, at the vciy tirn^,
cjjtremejy pnpopular ; ^pd hence publicans were pro-
yerbially plafl'ed with t|ie mor/i of Jtnnfrs^ Jofqjphqs
relates the tijmiiltuary meafures of Judas, the ring-
leader of th?it fa3ion, and refers to thi$ particular
year : " Ip his (Cppo'nius') adminiflfation, Judas, a Gali-
lean, prevailed with his countrymen to revolt, and faid,
thofe who would epdurp to p^y the Romans a tax. and
would, after God, fubmit to the domination of piortal
inen, were cowards t." The diftraflions which on
that occafioq embrpiled the tetrarchies in Paleftin^,
vrpr^ not foon forgotten. After the lapfe of 25 year§,
Gamaliel appealed to them as memorable and reqept
{a6);s, and as examples of oppofition alike unjuftifiablp
Jipd abortive : " Aftpr hirp (Theudas) rofe up Jpda$ ip
Galilee, in the days af th^ taxings and drew away
inuch people after him : he alfo perifhed : and al(,
jpven a§ many as obeyed him, were difperfedi.'*

^ JPuJt^jii* Jl7-'4^. t War,viii. %. I, J ^^%^y, 37.

tf ' ■ - ,

cc That

^•That tbc Cenfus in the end of Herod'f reign
Ihould have produced no difturbances may feem firange,
^wJien it is remembered that the fubfequent eiMrpImeol
pnder pyrenius occafioned the fedition of Ji^das. But
the temper of a nation is not always the fame. Much
depends on the wifdpm apd adjdre(^ of thofe who are
at the head of aiFair«. Herod was himfelf a man of
jBXtraordinary abilities, and h^d officers under him de^ r
trous in managing the humours of a multitude ; and
therefore if. cannot be thought ftrange, that the enrolr
inent in his reign fliould have been tamely fubmitted to,
jWihile th^jt which Quirinus made after Archelaus's ba<-
nifhm^nt jthrew X\i^ nation into fuch confuQon**''

Of the infurre^ion raifed by Judas, Jofepfaus gives
this account : f^ All forts of pdifchiefs Sprang from thefe
men [Judas and his fadionj. One violent war came
upon the back of another* and we lofl our friends who
lifed to alleviate our paips* There were alfo very great
robberies and murders pf our principal men^ This was
ijone indeed on pretei^ce for fhe public lyelfare) but in
reality from the hope of gain to ^hemfelves. Hence
^ofe feditions and murders, w^ich fometimes fell on
jheir own people and fometimes on their enemies t."

f lyjacnight, Chron. Diflert. i. p. 75. } Ant. ^viii. !• i^

CHAP.

tj^ Chhonolooy

IMI

CHAP. III. ^ .
Chronology of Augustus CisARt

I. His Birth.

QUETONIUS conncfts the nativity of thw famont
^ perfonage, with the 24th September, -in the confu-
late of M. Tullius Cicero and C. Antonius, the vear
of Catihne's conrpiracy, and confequently in the 691ft
of the Varronian era*. This date is confirQsed by
two authentic notations; the one in Tacitus f> who
has preferved a curious remark of the populace at thtt
very time of his death J ; — ** That the fame day of the
year was the firft of his magiftracy, and the laft of hit
life :" — the other is taken from the fame Suetonius*
who affirms in the life of 0£lavius §, that be invaded

• D. 0«£lav. cap. 5. This author mentions a different date,
though of the fame year ; but as a vulgar tradition, and rcft-
ing on the authority of an aftrologer, P. Nigidius — the 13th
Pccember ;T-that very night when the fenate was deliberating
on the fate of the confpirators, cap. 94. But the place and
manner of mentioning this report fhews, that this judiciou&
writer repeated it, with no fmall degree of academic faith.

•f Aniial. 1. cap. 9. % 19th Aug. § Cap. 26*

the

Cbe confulate in the 2Qth year of hU lifo. With this
aitaogement Paterculusi a contemporary writer, agrees^
and i» inore'detsrmkiate* ^' He entered on his coniuiate
yFhen he wanted but one day to complete his aoth year*/'
and *< that this was 72 years before the confulate of
Marqus Vinicius/' A, U, C- 783. Hence deduft 72,
tbe furplus 711 is, the true term. All thefe notations
are in exa6l hBnnoiiy» e^ccept that in Tacitus^

. * ■ *

2..>His fir/i Confulate.

- This datis is all^ady afcertained. It only remains
|o he obfe^vedj^ithat; the eafe and perfpicurty of com>-
pHtationreq^ifip ti^at his magifiracy be fuppofed to
laaiiHiiei^.abp^t 18 nionths earlie^Ti from the aflaifi'-
nation of tiie firft.CaMar on the i5th March 710.
Thus the confulfliip of Julias and Antony, and that of
Hittius aiid Panfsk> fot a part of the ne^t year, are fu-
perfeded. Tbis is the reckoning of Jofephus, and ac-
cords much better with the chronological chara£lers in
|he gofpels/

3. His Age and Death*

This fubje£l of difquifirion has likewife been in part
aiiticipated. A few points are briefly to be retouched,
with additional remarks. If the time of his death can,
i^rith Certainty^ be discovered, the deduflion of a fmall
^piantity, both from his Uie and reign, will be requifite
^nd neceflary*

» I*, il 63.

Suetonius

tyt Chronology

Suetonius fuggcfts one circuniftance, (gfneraIFy
omitted by the other hiftorians), fubfetvient to this dif*
covcry. ** A law having been pafled, on a motion
from the confulS) appointing Tiberius to hfe joined with"
Auguftas in the adminiftratiori of certain province
and in the celebration of the next kiftrum, aiid this
laft foldfnnity having been finiOved, Tib^riiU inftantly
fet out for Illyricum, one of thofe provinces coamutted
to his government \ and Auguflus accompanied him
part of the way, but died before hU return to Rome ♦.**

This criterion of time, though defedive, Hio#s that
Auguftus died a very (hort fpace after'the exhibition bf
a luftrum. But Livy fupplies this defeftf. *« In th^
Varronfan ytar of Rome 450, it i« faid tliat Q. Fabius
Maximus, the- cenfor, inftituted the foleitan pirocefliotl
pf the Roman kniglits, of which th^ anniverfary b tfie
15th July," The ceremony is thus defcrfted by a late
author : " Every fifth year the Equites fode up to thi{
Cenfor, feated in his curale chair, before the capitol, and
dlfmounting, led along their horfes in their hands befcH'e
hipi, and in this inanner were reviewed ;{:." Auguflus,
by every account, died on the 19th Augufi, A. U» C*
766, or 35 days after the luftrum, and according to
Suetonius, juft as many before the conclufion of his
7)ithyear§.

Usher, Prideaux, and others, conne£l hil' dcccafe.^
with the number of the Julian Period 4717> coincideiJl

• Vita. Tib. Neronis, cap. ir. -J- Lib. ix. 46.

J Dr. Adams's Roman AfitiquiUes, p. aS«
§ D. O^av. Aug. cap. 100.

with

^Augustus Cesar. 173

with the Va^r^pian- year 767.. This, date is brought
too loW: by one. year : fox, by the computation of Sue-
tOQi|is» 766 — ^^691^:75, leaves but. 7 5 for the age of
d^fs emperpr, and the :lalt incomplete.. Thus one year
mail be retrenched from his life* The rotations of
the luftrum are an infallible charafle;: of time, from the
yi^ry date of the inflitu,tion, in the.firftof Seryius TuU
Ui^s^ Ann. Varron^, i j^. This fum , deduS. from . 766,
and the difiTerence, 590, divided by 5, quotes 118 lufira,
without a remainder* Though this folemnity was
omitted for 16, or even 40 years occafionally, never
4id one deviation happen from the regular returns of
this circulating period.

Tvsro years muft alfo be dedufted either from this>
or from the fubfequent reign ; for, if 56 full years bp
alTigned to the one, and 23 to the other, thq interval,
froip the flaughter of Julius to the death of Tiberius, is
79 years ; which exceed the truth by two. Tor a rea»
fpn, afterwards to be produced, the reign of Auguflus
muft be abridged.

4.. Decree of Enrolment at Bethlehem.

** It came to pafs, in thofe days, (of Herod's reign),
that a decJree went forth from Cefar Auguftus, that
ALL the WORLD (hould be taxed*.'* In the Roman
phrafeology all the World was a term equivalent to
the then widely-extended e m p i re of that people. But
provifion having been made by a conftitutional ordinance,

* Luke, ii, I.

(the

17+ CHRoKotocir

(th^ cenfiis, about fix centuries befere), -for fixing tlA
public revenues, in proportion to the .priyate property
of the fubjeds ; no particular decrees for that purpofe
occur in former periods, much lefs at that time. Ach-
guftus indeed celebrated, during his long reigfi, tfarefe
notable luftra, each at the diftance of 20 years, at the
vftial times, and not in virtue of an extraordinary ftai-
tute. In the fir ft Auguftus prefided together with
Mark Agrippa, Ann. Varr. 726 5 in the other alone,
746 ; in the third with Tiberius Nero, 766 ♦. But
the monumental infcriptions marked on thofe occafions^
and ftill extant, declare the quality of the perfons en-
roiled and taxed ;— Roman citizens ; (eenfa funt ci-
vium Romanorum capita.) Befides, none of alP the
three years can, by any reafohable computation, be
brought to agree with the time of Chrift's nativity.

It may be furmifed that the provinces, either all or
fome of their numbers, might be enrolled^ at leaft at
limes diftin£l from that of the national CENSUS. Sur^-
mifes are not evidence. As to any general furvey of
the provinces, during this interval of 4.0 years, hiftory
is entirely filent: and every prefumption induces the
belief that the decree to which the evangelift refers,
was reftri6led to Herod's dominions ; for as the Romans
denominated the empire by the title of Totus Terrarum
Orbls, the WHOLE WORLD, fo the facred writer*
called the land pf Paleftine, Xiaaa Ouca/jisimj an expreflion
equivalent to the whole country of Judea, Samaria, and Ga-

• Suet. Odav. Aug, cap. a;.

lilee*

^Augustus Cssas. 175

Ulee. Tbtts mw^ for the: terms. £at does the prefumption
Mow foggeftedreft on the bafis of hiftorical probability f
.Herod's coumry) about three years before his
4bath| Was very much infefted by a powerful body of
Trachooitiih robbers, who had been encouraged ia their
depfedaftions by one SyHxus> th^ deputy of Obodas^
king of Arabia Pletraea, an ally of the Roman empire..
With a miliury force Herod pafTed over into that
country, and put to death numbers of the invaders^
but found tlie main body in a fbrtrefs, (granted them by
Sylixus), where they were inacceflible. After this un-
iuccefsful iexpedition, the exafperated thieves, having
acquired an acceflion of force from S) llaus, made a
frefli irruption into Judfea and Cekfyria^ in their pra-
grefs laying wafte the country and villages. Herod
applied for redrefs to the govemoi^ of Syria. By their

mediation S'yllxus agreed to compromife matters, and
aiib to pay a debt of 60 talents formerly borrow€td
from Herod^ within 30 days. Without performing
jiny part oi his engagements Syllaeus went to Rome^
with a complaint againft Herod, as carrying on unpro**
yoked hofiilities with the Arabians. Auguflus giving
implicit credit to this report, exprefled his refentmenr
in a letter to Herod, fetting ibrth, in terms more acri-
monious than moderate, ^^ That formerly he had adlect
towards him as a friend, but thenceforth would treat
bim as a dependant." By a happy conjuncture of in*
eidents, Herod proved the falfehood of the whole charge
at the emperor*s tribunal, and foeffefted a reconciliation**

* Jof. Ant. xvi. chap. ix. p. 16*

Here

•. ' •■

i;6 C R It b N o t d-c V;

Here feems to be a very natural aecotiiyi of ftid
decree in its caofe and origin. Afigsftlis, Ht the firfl
tranfport of indtgnation, hiving formed the Tcfbhitionf dt
reducing Herod to the abjed conditicM ol t'HIE'A^ bady
as a previous flep, emitted an tiiBt for the fntey of ki«
domidions* Bat that ferment of difpleafum IUbfiding>'
and after feme time the innocence of Herod being in-
dicated, he forbore his refemment; tfnd thotfgb the
farvey had been executed^ its effects were fufpended*
This reconciliation took place in the 34tbof'HerOd'fll
reign, and only a few months before his death. In this
ihort interval (and neither fooner nor later} is the en-
rolment at Betlilehem to be fought and found.

History farther reports, <^ That in the reign of
Auguflus, an enrolment was made in Judea^by Semmr
Saturninus *.'* This cenfus could be no other than th6
kvc7(Apty enrolment^ in the evangeliil* Uk both the
name of thp emperor is exprelTed, and the whoU worU
or lami is reftri3ed to Judea. TertuUian adds the ninitf
of the Roman commiflioner. Saturninus futtieded
Agrippa, as prefident of Syria, in the 26th of HerbdU
reign, computed from the defeat or death of Antigq^u^.
Of hisintermeddling,either by authority or otherwife,with
the affairs of the Jews, not one veftige occurs in hiftory
prior to his concern in the litigation between Herod
and Syllaeus. He is next mentioned as a judge, iti the
trial of Herod's fons by Mariamne f , in the fecond yea#

• Cenfus adtus fub Augufto, in Judea, per Sentiuin Satur-
toinixm. Tcrtall. Contra Marcion. Lib. iy. 19.
f Ant«xvi«iitf 3.

before

5^AuctfsfuS Cesar. iyy

before their father's death : and the very year of that
d^th be was fuperfeded by the appointment of Quin*
tBk» \^an%iHa faccefler ^i» the prorinee of Sjrrnr. It
has been fhown that the decree for the enrolment was
not iflued before the Varronian year 748 ; and it is now
eertaint from fundry eicplioit notations of time, that it
could not be executed by Saturninus after 749. It
muft therefor^ have been executed at Bethlehem, about
the time of the autumnal equinox, the true hiflorical
date<Qf.9upXiQrd*s nativity *^ - ->

* '** In lliis matter weVe two diftlnct particular actions done
at iifeiWa an* dififcrent tiihts; i&tJurHfey and the /wy. Iii
Lnke^liv ii 'tb^ fbnrier is'to be aftd«ritd6d'^ alnd m Verfi^ n^c6tfdr
tbe iatter.- Xbw reconciles that etaiigelift with Jcifephus, from'
w|io|n itU inanifeft. that Cyrenlus was not governor ofS^^iat
and levied no ta^ uil^on Judea, t;Ul after Archelaus was depoCed,
arWtfc^Jt country ^^^S^^^^def a prociiratof, which wasaBove
el€tfcit7«»f8 ifter tAfc dicrec f# th^ furi^. If thyh-dficA-e HHe
ftcotid veift. of the leeohid chapter be <o r^Adired as to imply
the ie^jying of the tape, according to t^ iUfer^twi mentione^^Ui;
the former verfcy was fifft executed, ^his will remove all diffi-
culties, and the £^xt can w^ll bear this iriterpr^Ution/* SHd.
#. li, pi 507. Th« nioi»c ftirt <iontdei^atioh' of thtif ttisxi^ is
nfrnred'fortitl py<>p«r;i^1al;$^.

N CHAP.

ini C.H R^ N .Q L O G. Y

■ 1. ^

c HA p: IV^

1 ' ^'1 J

Chronology cf Tiberius Nero.

■ »

FOR the date of his birth SuctomuS^iffigns ttirec
diftinfl and fucQeflive years, charafleriled rby as
inany pairs of confuls \ — JEjXojXwxi Lepidus^ and :Mur-
natius Plancus, Aulus Hirtius and Vibiot P^fa, Servi-
lius Ifauricos and Lucius Antonius ; — coiirefpohding'
to the Varronian years 711, 712, 713. with this'
sluthor Tacitus and Dion CalTiqs agreie^ in.ttus repo^.
that he died in his 78th*year« >lf the Jaft .were in*'
complete A. U. Cv 787^ and 71 1 be fubdufied^ he died
before the end of his 76th. Either therefore bis bir&
TOuft be anticipated, or his life protraQed two yeai^. ^
It mnft occur to thct reader's recolle£liQiu that atl
the Roman hiftorians, not excepting even. tbo& wW
admit a part of Nero's reign to have been common %o
that of his predeceflbr, aflign to both a period of 70
or 80 years, from the premature and tragical death of
Julius. The time of the partnerfiiip in empire was
two years. Let thefe be retrenched, and then the 78th
of Nero will coincide with 787 in March. Evident |s
the abfurdity of dating his birth from 71 iy and pro-

lonpnjf

longing fiis reign to 789. For thus our Lord was not
crucified in the procuratorfliip of Pontius Pilate^ as all
the e va n g e li fe -teftify ; neither in the reign of -Tiberius^
ts Tacitus relates ; but in that of Caligula.
, The next fubje£Lof difquifition is the two-fold date
of this reign» Certain it is that he returned from his^
laft expedition in Germany, and, befides other honours^
had a fplcndid triumph, in the confulate of Germanicus
Cefar and'Fonteius Capito, A. U. C^ 765. Among
Other honours on that occafion conferred, one was, an
equal authority and power in the adminillration of cer-*>
tain provinces with Auguftus. On the 19th of Auguft
766, he became fole emperor by the death of his col*
league. The queftion now is, from which of thefe
dates is his fifteenth year, thiit much celebrated chrono-
logical character in the gofpel hifiory, to be computed ?
Every criterion of hiflorical truth eftabliih^s the for-
iher^ From the laft year of Auguftus's fole admini*
ftration in 764, dedu£l the year of the firft Cefar's
aflaflination, 710, the remainder, 54, brings forward the
reckoning to the aoth March765, the very point whence
the government of Tiberius is herp fuppofed to com*
mence; and 765+iS==78o, makes the i6th March
the firft day of his 15th year, or the 70th from the
daughter of Julius. This unufual term of <x)mputation
ibr the (hort interval from the rife of the Roman mo«>
narchy, to the death of the fecond emperor, is chofen^
from no afiedation of fingularity, or merely for the
fake of controverting the truth of arrangements*
i - ^ H % which

i8q C h r'o h o t o c Y

tvhich prefcripftion has made femiliar. The author^4
Ible motive is the application of a regulating meafurt
from the fiift to the 78th Julian year^^*— t aeafnre
precifely eqpnl to the natural life of Tiberius^ with the
dteduQioD of eight roonthS| without defeA or fiirplus^
In this fpace Augufius began, under the tinitations
abovementionedt his reign of 54 years o» the i6tb
March ; and on the fame day, in the rotation of years^
fhat of Tiberius, compreliending 23 yearsy both bcgail
and ended. A teft of fo much uie and certainly^
though obvious even to fuperficiat readers, ha& unaic<#
countably been overlooked by the rooft penetrating
critics m chronology, and eicaped the refisardiei of all
the Harmonifis. > . .

To prevent, however, the cet^ureof kuiovatto%kt
the acceffion of Nero, in the )ife-tkne of AognluSY W
feckonQd'(oDly one year before the demiie of the lali-
tery from the ' aoth Auguft 765, aod let 14 be addtd^
the operation, denotes the 19th Auguft 779^; and i^
this fiatement of terms the i5th o£ h\$ reign tenmnaltti
the 2mtb Auguft 780. At. the time of the precedtflg
vernal eqiiinox, the word of God came to Jobn mi the
Urildemefs. This computation yt juf^ butk&^pei!^
CU0U3* For the expofitort of the : gol^el hw^ifig gcwtr
nlly re&TKd the: death of Herod, to Nov^tnbeiv {datMIt
eight «3^p|Hte ^9. its trrue aflfronoi4ui(;»l dait^), <$pi«piiiM!l
Jhe rcigq4 b^tj^,^ Arch^^l^MS a^dpf Ne/o f|foi9;a,t<Hl^«dr

^^ced! f/?%ftwii: 0/5 t^ year. :5ttt,.aJl th^h mHMm^
V^9g hro^h^ ^arl)9 to the b#giwmg q£ e^er tht

7 . Roraaa

RoBJan or Hdbzevf yenr, conaiputation proceeds in. a«
^rdf^\f feriqs £rom one conuBoii ppint, exbibuinj[, as m
.« procctffion, perfonage^ and incidents*

John the Saptift^s iDinifiiy is a notable era both in
pipphecy and hiflor/. Then began the 70th week, to
vi^bich was affigned (he work of confirming the covenant
with many during its currency. In the middle of the
&me week was the Mod Holy to be anoint^dr the fa-
crifieeand oblation to ceafe; and at its expiration, the
Mefliah to be cut off.

This oracle, with refpeS to the order of the events
foretold, derives abundant elucidation from hiftory*
For inftance: " The beginning of the gofpd of
Jefus Cbrift the Son of God ; as it is written in the
prophets, Behold I fend my meflenger — 'the voice of
one crying in the wildernefs *•** " All the prophets,
^nd the law, prophefied until John t." To that word,
*<* which was preached through all Judea, and began from
Galilee, after the baptifm, which John preached,*' the
apoftles refetxei their hearers: and their dofirine in
fubllance was, ^^ How God aaointed Jefus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghofi, and with power, &c. j:'*

T^yvT th^ commencement of John's miniftry might
be tranfmitted to fubfequent generations, with various
difcriminatiag chara3eriS of the tiux, the evangelift
^ieficribes k by no k& than fix hifiorical notations, thea
wijver&llytJcnown, and ftill extant in the anoals of that
^fii- 'If the X 5th of Tiberius Gefar; 2. tbeprocura-

■*

•• M9^K »• i^-J* t Mat. ». la. J ^1, X. 37, 38.

N 3 torlhip

I %.*..

l8l C H R b N O X O G Y

torfliip of Pontius Pilate ; 3. the tefnrchy of Herod
Antipas in Galilee, the fame who put John the BaptiA
to death ; 4. of Herod Philip in Iturea and Trachdnitis,
diftin£i mimes for the (ame principality. Thefe ivere
font of Herod the Great, and brothers of Archelaus, to
whom were afligned the parts of his dominions already
mentioned. That Antipas was living in this year is
certain '^ for John, fome time after, reproved bitn for
haying taken his brother Philip^ wife, who was ftill

living. Thus is evinced the coexiftence of Antipas

•• •

and Philip at the time fpecified: 5. the tetrarchy of
Lyfanias in Abilene, a province of Caelefyria ; 6. the
conjunQ pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas.

It is here rcquifite and neceffary to. afcertain every
criterion (bbfervicnt to the diftinftioh of the two terms^
whence the acceffion of Tiberius is to be reckoned.
•In the'firft year common* to the two emperors,
M. Ambivius wis procurator in Judca ; in the fecond,
A. Rufns. No foonerwas Auguftus dead than Tibe^
rius removed Rufos, and gave that truft to Valerius
Gratus, His commiffion lafied 1 1 years, (as- ih page
92), and confequ^htly expired with the appointment of
ftis fuccelTor P. Pilate, in the 13th of Tiberius. Goiint
forward the 10 years of Pilate^t refidence in Jiidea 5
i3-|.io:2^.' But if this reign commenced with th«
jnoburatorOiip of Gratus, it did i^ot exceeds I, and tfae
fail year incomplete ; for the emperor died after a reign
of ao yeariand one day. The tevang^Kft, for all dicto
reafoos, counted from the joint adminiftration, accord-
log to the ufage of that age, which, in fimilar xiaks^

o,bta^iAS.

tf Tiberius Xk'^o. i8j

olitaSm every where* The'firft of Pilate's procimitor-
(hip wa3 copfequently the 15th of Tiberius.. Had he
been invefied with the imperial dignity but one year,
iboner, the word of God niu{( have come to Jphot
the foil of Zachariasg in the wildernefsi Valerius Gra«-
tus being tfien governor oT Judea* Such is the precjr.
Qon, fuch the infellible certainty of the chronologiciat
notations in the gblpel* This evangelift has niarke4
bhe decilive circumftance, which corre£ts all the Roman
hUloriahs« as to the true interval from the aflaflinatioa'
of Julius Cefar, to the 15th of Tiberius Nero, the laft.
ihcluded ; — it is 69, not 7 1 years : and thus is refUfied
the clironology of the Auguftan age.
' Th£ 'beginnin|r of the gofpe) is chariderifedy laftly,
by Ii."c6hjun£t pontificate — that of Anitas and Caiaphas.
-^This criterion is no le^ determinate. Valeriuf
Cratus, sLbdiit two years'before, had irerpoved this Annas
from the high-priefthobd, and fub&i'tuted Simon, No,w
PontiQs Pilate reftored' Anfias; and ' permitted Jofepl^*
Caiaphas, his foh-ih^law, to "officiate ^ his colleague.
This was tlie firft year of fheir joint miniftration,' and
both prefided at our Lord's trial, in the year pf the cSfu''
clfixion.

The i^tli of Tiberius, A; U. C. 779, was the' 30th
of our I^itF'^ life/ By infallibi^ npt^s of time bis n4«
tivity is fixed to the ^ddt of Tabernacles 749; anl'
the lefs fdm taken froth the greater, 30 is the rnnain^er;
fo that at the time of the oppofit^ pardinal point, in
this year, his age was precisely 29 years fix months.

N4 It

lH^ C H H O K O L O Y

It has been pbje£|pd, tl^a^ Jefii^ began to be about 30
ye^rs.qld at his b^iptifm *.

It muft indeed b^ admitted, tM tjtili ^afe is men-
tibned in immediate conne^io;^ ^itb that p/irt of the.
Inftonr. .Heqce fome .qf the Jlarmony- wri^rf copt^ivilt.
that our Lord ws^ baptifed in the firft yesu^ of his fprg-
runner's ininiftry ; others that hU age, in the 15th .^ c^/- .
'^iberius, w^ b^t 26. Bux. a very moderate degr€;e q£
alttenti9p to jhe evangejift^s method of arrangui^bift
Ijofpet YfilX dete.ft the .fallacy of both conj^Qures. TbjJi '
aj^tbbr exhibits, in qoe oxd^rly ferips,^ the. diflTefe^t.
p.arts of the fame fubje£l ^ and then introduces SMiQtK^r,
which he profecutes in the fame mapner; for ^xan^ple;.
he .opens his narrative with an account, firft of the ^^p«i
tift's natiyityt then 0/ his Lotd ; and under either hpi^r

notes the extraordinary circupftances relative to hioth*

...» 4 . ■ . J

After a very concife view, of ^ vcr^ kyc incidents, ia^
the private life of either puurfpoagjes h^ prpcfsd^ tp tboi
pi^Iic charader of each, a^in tb^ fi^nie order. Iw
^ thir4 ch2y)ter the mini^ of John if 4>fieAy.Jc*'
fcribed frpm verfe | tp :^a, inclufi,velyt where the bap-<
ti^ of Chrift is mentione4y ii^ con,pe6l^ witb an
advanced ilage of that miniflry. Hence a tranfijUon
to^another part of tb^ gf ^^f^l^ fubje^ y-^tl^e jperfoi^I
n?^i|^ o|:^^^^ 9.f whpfft5^bo bringf.

ifito comqdenfXf with the laflrjoientioQed d|tte» to wbicb
by i^ KtroibejSjive yiew^ . he virtually re^aJU tb^ atten-

tion

-I V •'

tit^:of hi? readers who, without violating' ttsb cooti*
guity of coexifient events, may confider the conciic kc^
(^wntof John'«-iniiiifirya9.a parentbdis. Soch then
are two dates in juxta-pofition. *' It came t9 pal$^ iti^
t^e 15th year of Tiberius Cefar, that the word of God*
came to John, the fon of Zacharias, in the wUdemeTs ^
i)pd Jefus himfelf began to heaimt 30 year^ of age, beiiig^
sts was fuppofed, the fon of Joleph/' &c. The evangdili
could not, with more piecifion, have defined ChxiftV
age, at the time of the vernal equinox in ,that yearj^
except he bad cbofen to write 29 year^ fix mcmtbs*.^

Annalists are confined 19 the order of time» and
fo exhibit fragments of hiftory* The hifiorian, col*
lediing parts, unites them with fkill, rejei^ng evexf
thing incoherent, diifimilar, or fuperfluous, and fo
frames one perfefi and well-proportioned whole. In,
this method of hiilorical compofition, the evangefift
exhibited a model for Suetonius, who, in his lives of
the Cefars, *^ propofes to prefent the feveral parts diU^
tinf^Iyj, a^d 9pt in the oi^der of time,, but to combioQ

, ♦ T!^ author Y^uld, with no lefs fatisfiidlion ^hao jufticc,,
Kave acknowledged his obligation to any of the critics, in
whofe works he i^xpeded to %nd this coexiftence of time and
numbers.- As a very probable conje^ure, little fiiartx>f eer^
t|9aty» his .fiagular opimoais f^bnoitted to difceraing j.Mdge8«
Thofe critics* if any fuch •be, who yf^ afiirmj that at the
time of his baptiim the age of jefus did not exceed 30 years,
muft on the fame grounds maintain, that his baptifm was fub«
fequent to the in^prifonment of John, which^ in the order of
things, is recorded as a prior tranfa^ion.

things

its C H n 6 k'6'l o c y

Atrrgs ofMd^e mttirci thM he xtiight avoid eonfi.'

* If to A. U. C. 779, the 15th drNero/andf 3bth'
*f JefotChrift, 3f years be added, the reckoning h
iemttinued to tlie autiimnal equmbk 783, the '19th and
j4th of- Nero and Chrift refpeSively. '* This is the true'
iate of his: baptifm, to which' facceeded' his temptatiotk
in tfewtldernefs ; and then comniehced his niiniihY itr
Aieyeaf of the* 3orh jubile* from the partition 6f 'Ca-'
Manl ^ All tftefe direS evidence?' froitt hiftbry and prcH'

Jhccy, refute as idle furmifes the pofitioifs'bf 'archBilhop'
Jfhtfr, that Jefus was bapHfed iri the ''tfrft of John's
mlniftry, that he fpent three y6ars in private Mifc, and
'then began to pfreach and confirro' his dbftririe^by iiiifa-i*
ctes- Tbii train of arbitraiy and incbherent arrange-^
ments disjoins events, which all' the ^vangelifti combine
in comely order'and continuous TuccefTion. - '•

To preverit every fufpicion of fo long an Interval,^
the recefs into the defert is cohhe£led with thebaptifm^
at. Jordan. • " Immediately the fpfnt drivetbhim
into tlie wildernefs, where he was tempted 40 dayst/*
'. Jesus having fuddenly diG^peared^ the prieus' and.
kyites at Jerufalemi impatient to knoyir whither he hsbd^
Miir^d, and .anxious to leaia what was his true cha-;
fiider;. lent a deputation to the Baptift, who was ftiil^
dontfnuing his miilillratior^s about Bethcibara ;{:. The

.' •- ■ : : • •• •• .;;

• Partes excqii^r figillatim, peque per .tcmpora, fed per fpc-
eics; qdd'diftlhdms demonftran cognofciquc poflint. OAav,

^ .■» t ^'!^? *• ?^* t John, i. 19.

time

9f TrBERlUS NlRO." tly.

tfaise of this- conference with the deputies majs wi(b
every circnmftance of probability, be referred ta thd
hpfe of the 40 days nearly. For the next day, (after
the return of the meflengers), John feeing Jefus €0m<«
ing unto him, gave a frefh atteflation to his chamfier^
as the Lamb of God, fent with authority and a Ipedal
commiflioni to take away the fins of die world. >a«
" Again the next day after, John, in the prefence of
two of his difcipies,' feeing Jefus as he walked, repeatedl^
his ■ honourable teftimony J Tliefe difcipies, (the one
Andrew the brother of Peter, and the other ytxf
probably John the Evangel ift, who feldom records hi^
own name), defirous of an interview, followed Jefus,
and abode with him that day.

On. the following day, Jefus, on his way to Galilee^
found Philip and Nathaniel, and having with the other
two arrived at Cana, oh the third day after the inter-
view with Philip, or the 6th after the return from the
wildemeft, and the 46th from his baptifm at Jordan,
THERE he turned the water into wine. " This B&-'
GiNNiNC of MIRACLES did Jefus in Cana of Gafilee^
and mantfeiled fonh his glory, and his difcipies believed.
on him ♦.**

'^ Aftebl this he went down to Capernaum, he, ttid
his mother, and bis brethren, and his difcipies ; Und di^
continued thtn not many daysf/* This very flUMt
(pace of time, with the intermediate occurrences, .th(^
other evangeiifts pafs over in filence. Luke, however,

♦ John, i. a^ii. and ch. ii. ii« f Ch. ii^ ifl. '

records

iSa C H R 6 N O L O G V

lecord^ tbe events in the exa£l order of time, fubfeqaene
to the departure from Capernaum.. <« When the devil
had ended all his temptation he departed from him for
a feafoa : and Jdiis returned in the power of the fpirit
into Galilee, and a fame of him went out through all
(be region round about *.** << And he came to Naza*
reth, wh^^ h(B had been brought up, and, as his cufioiQ
^s» went into the fynagogue on (Saturday) the iab-
|iath-day, and ftood up for to read. The book of the
prophet £(aias wa^ delivered unto him ; and when ))^
bad opened the book f , he found the place where it w^
wjdttcJit The fpirit of the Lord is upon me, becaufe ha

"* From fundry notations in the context, it is obvious that
fcveral incidents, not here recorded, did intervene before our
{«or«rs iiifit toNazarctb., when his renown had,, in a very ibort
tinne, ff«:ea4 £ir and wide. . The boaonrable report concemi,ng
him was not, a ^or^ (^o?) ipnparted by one individual to ano*
th^r, neither a rummur in a narrow corrtcr, (Luke, vii. 7 — 17) 5
Sue j^;»^'(<^"VMat;iy. 14. (^n) Luk6,iv. r4. Rumor eit
9cUiodFii)x»rfa«ui omnium. Whence eoukLthis FAJis.riferhut
fi^pm ikiA iii^ iigfifti mirsck at.f^na? That he hadlikewife
4^U^Qiiradesa]tCapcr()^upi ia .unequivocally^ intimated, verfe
14, «* Ye will Ajrcly fay. unto me this proverb* Phyfidan^ heal
thyiclf : whatfoevcr we have heard done in Capernaum, d6
alfo here in thy country." Such indirect references t^^ prfor
iimi^ ki^ ^ efiSsptialt nfe.io. aibortaiiidigi Ufkudval oi^er.

^I^itbf co^xt JtislAfYfKeffM?^ thrift jpanifp^fjl
fQ^J^his^^loryby^ftupCBdpps exertions of fuperaatiu^l power,
b^ore he fpake, as nev^ man did }^y *^is doctrine. He deli-

^ nty{4f TO ^ioXisy, unfolded the little volume, which, perhaps,
fiOlitiitt^dFfaias' prophecy:*' ' *- ' 5 : ^ . '

alone

<^ Tiberius Nero.: 289

alone hatb anointed me to preach the gofpel to the poor,
— to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. He then
cloied the book ; gave it again to the miniftery and fat
down:— -the eyes of all in the fynagogue were faflienedofi
him/'— 'After an exprefiive paufe, ** He began to (xf
unto them, This day is this fcripture (n ypa(pn'iarn^
fulfilled in your ears* All bare hioi witnefs, and won^
dered at the gracions words which proceeded out of \m
mouth ♦ +/*

Tut

• Lwke, ir. x.v *».

f NcYer prophet with equal (olcmRjty or more efledl openeff
his commiflioH. It has already, and more than once beer*
Ihewn, that the 4.th, not the flrft of John's miniftry, and at the
end of the firft fi* months in that year, about the tfme of the
autumnal equinok, was the true date of Chrift's baptiihiv ti
has alfo been fhewn that the fame year was not only iabbaticaU
but the ^th jubile from the partition of Canaan. Extremely
frigid, not to (ay violent, is the arrangement in the Annals,
where the ferft appearance of John on the bafiks of Jordan, tHi
baptifrti of hie Lord, the temptatiott in the fHldemefd, the mHl
Eon of thef deputieaf to John froOi Jeruialeia,. &c. are all
crowded into his firft year:— yet the time of Chrift's entrance
o|i his perfonal miniftry is deferred to the 4th. The paflTagcs
thready cbiledted from ^he gofpels, reprobate this difpofitfoii
of events and times.

Were the art of regukting hiftory by aftronomy and* cBfl>*.
Iiotogy more generally Inown, many paflages in the facre^
writings, which are commonly read without emotion, (nayi
with a idnd of languid apathy), would forcibly arrelf fht ati
tehtion of every mind," prepared by the knowledge of ciilcn"-
lation, for confulting with difcemment the Bible hiftx)ry. " TRfe
prophecy fo prbpefly read with re^e^ tb the cTrc^mffence of
'■■.... time.

1*9^ G H It O N O L O C IP

The evangelift John proceeds in the natural {tt\i$
of tilings, and order of time. •* The Jews paflbver
iwas at hand, and Jefus went up to Jerufalem. Many
believed in his name when they faw his miracles *•'*>
Six full months had now elapfed from the time o'f bis
baptifm. From one circumftance it is p^efurndd that
he flaid fome time, fierhaps feveral months, in JudeaV
Pqr the pharifees having heard that he had made and
baptifed more difciples than John, Jcfus left Judea and
departed again into Galilee, by the way of Samaria,
where he converfed with the woman at the well, and
thence after two days departed, and went to Canat
where, on the application of a nobleman from Caper-
naum in behalf of his fon, then at the point of death,
he refiored, at a diftance, the patient to perfe£l heaUb^
This was the fecond of his miracles at Cana f .

In the 5th chapter is mentioned a feafi of the Jews^
which has every probability of a paflbver, and the fe-
cond in Chrift^s minifiry. If fo it were, Jefus was
certainly at Jerufalem, and before his remrn defcribe4
John as a luminary then fet. << He was (not /x} >si

time, and fo apppfitcly applied, in the fynagoguc at Nararcth'j
it one of many pertinent examples. If all the learned com-
jnfptators, deeply (killed in verbal criticifm, and bnt very mo^
^erately acquainted with the do^rine of time in its meafuceiu
and the combinations of its parts, had been poflefled of thU
indifpenjCible qualification, frotn the days of Ufiier, the chro^
aology of biir Lord's life would not, as now, have been ^n-
vplved in perplexity.

• John, ch, ii. ig-^t* t Ch, ir. 1—54.

biimtng

of TiBEJftlUS NeHQ. - t^^

burning aind a fliining Xv^r . V^rfe 35* He was ^f:n'

probably thrown into priloB, bat not executedlw The'

i^xt account ^f Jefus defcribes htm as in Galitee, ad>oiiC'

the:fca of Tiberias* ^ •«

, The two other evangelifis (Matthew and Mark) rev

port, that when JeCgs had heard,, that John was call kiKK

priio^ be came into Galitee *. Hence natural is the

lAffrence, that Jefus, while in Judea, heard thefe tidingSy'

which account exaSly correfponds to the notations^

John, V. 35, and qh. vi. r, compared together. Thcfo

chsM-aQers of time and place, efiablilh the certainty of

another hiftorical. term : — ^The refurn tifitoGaTilee, of

which Matthew and Marl^ take notice, was (in the

paflages to which the text^ above-mentioned refer) the

third after the lapfe of the 40 days in the wildernels./'

That in John, i. 43, and in Luke, vf^ 14, was the firft ;

the othej in John, iv. 43, was-the fecond ; and that in

M^t, iv. 12, Mark, i, 14, and John, vi. i, was the

third ; fome (hort time after the fecond palTover in the

miniftry of Chrift. — It may be objeSed, i.^Tbat the

imprifonmerit of theBaptift is here. .brought one. year

lower than in the numerous arrangements of the Har«

monifis, who generally comprehend this hifloncal in*

cident within the fpace. of tin^ between the firft and

fecond palTover. It. is replied, that this minute invefti*

gi|tion is not intended to re£lify alone the precarious

and unchronological poflulates of the worthy primate^

but alfo to examine the, no lefs inaccurate fpeculatigk^

^
k

* Mat. tv. 12. and Mark, i: 14.-

of

19^ CHR6N^0L06t

of oar tvet inultiplying race of harmony wrrters* The
ovangeliftsy even when they feem to difl^r, are in per-
{eSL concofd; whereas their Harmoailb, as it WeH^
in compa3, are at ferious pains to conyincethe ifOtMj
that thefe ^vangelifis knew nothing of the matters
which they tranfmitted to the world.

It niay be objeflcd, 2. That Matthew and Mark
record feveral afis of Jefus, prior in the order of titfle'
to the impriibumdnt of the Baptift. Anfwer: This isf
not to be inferred from the order, and much lefs frotri
diie time of calling the twelve difciples. John the
evangelift, An^ew» his brother Simon, afterwards fur*
named Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel, were occafionally
witii their Lord from the d^te of the firft miracle at^
Cana, but not conftanrly. They and others weife per-
mitted to attend their fecular funSxom, and had repc^tA
cdAh for a fenp<^ry attetidance. The complete tium-
ber twe!v« might likewtfe h»vc been embodied, of ra-
Iher aflually was, between the return froin the wilder-
ftcfe and the fecond palfo^r; but thpttgfe Aefei tWS
erangelifts profeffedly begin fheif hiftory from the time"
John was taken into cuftody, yet thfey do relate niany
things of a prior date. In exaiEt harmony wftlir this
iSkrtiow, <ht' former, in an advanced ftage of his narra-
tivCi metflioiw a mcflage from the Baptift, while in cpn-
Snemcnt, to Chrift,; and afterwards his martyrdom ♦.
The latt^r^ in like manner, gives a concife account o{
itie martyrdom albnet; Ii^ it tioi hence prefumable»

' • Matt. xi. J. andch'. xlv^ x«. ' f Mark^ vi. 97.

that

^Tiberius Nero.* igj

that the fair ]gre»'Wr number of the fiCh in bdtlf^iftorics
was prior in tinie to the apprehending and' execution of
tbaft emincnit prophet i From the femalrk in either gof-
pel nothing more can be inferred, thaii that the writers
Sii hot tiiidertake an orderly account of the tfanfar^ions
from the fetirrn put 6f the ^irdeffiefi' icr the ffiird ex-
l^itiori into Galilie.

"f HE refalt of thi^ uhiavoldably prolix difquifition li,
that tbe three niemofable events of CHrift's baptifm,
femptatioc, and entrance on his prophetical fun£lions>
inuft neceflarily be referred to the 4tb year of John's
miniftry, and the jgth of Tiberibs, frotn the date of his
partrierfliip in the erhpife. If thefe points be admitted;
the Metropolitan's hypothefis of three years fpent in
private life, from the end of the 46 days temptation t6
the commeitcertiertt of this perfonal miniftry, fkrls to
the ground; If not, the fcoitiputation by fabbatical
years, the ofacles of prophecy, and the concurrent re-
port of all the fouf evsingelilts, forfeits every pretcrifiori
to credibifiijr. They miift be fallacious guides. Nayi
even on the.Kietropolitan*sf principle, that Chrift was
baptifed in the firft year of Johri'^ itiiniftry^ that texi
from an ancient predi£Hon^ " The vdice of one crying
in the "v^ildcntefej prepare ye the way of the Lord !"
^as ex^jtrifitely proper for thait herald of One greatef
and mightief, than himfelf : and after three years of
^triKr^i it toutd not be improper for that greater and
ititghfiefi than the herald^ t<S o^n 6is commiflioh with
another pred{£tiOn equally authentic, << I am anoihted
io prdcl^m the acceptable year of the Lord.'' But,

■ O inadvertently,

194 C,H.R,o N o L o<;.Y

im^ecjteptjy^ ^bp.Pfiin^te transfers to t^^ .hcr^W . tBc
bQno^r Qf.a jubile, and condemns to .fb^ (j^ade of
4inaiginafy pbrcuri(y ^hree years of our Lord's ^Hfe &!>-
iequent to his fingular conje3ure of a prior .eoi^^c|:a^
tioi^ to the fundions of a prophet and martyr. Sup}^
decifions darken couofel by words witbou^ knowledge^
*In the month Nifan of the Varronian^ year jS^t
which was that of the crucifixion, ended the 70th pro-
pbetical weekv It therefore began in the fame n^ontb,

779*

Hence count forward three years, C^ i?^^^*
The operation brings down the reckoning to Tifri^ ip
the centre of that week, when the facrlfice and oblatiQa
did virtually ceafe^ being iuperfeded by a mor^excelleoi^
pinifiry. This revolution fignalifed the micjft oi^^
week| as had expref&Jy bepn foretold. At its concluiion
the whole apparatus of carnal ordina^ces^ yrhich h^
then loft even their typical virtue, were adually aba«
lifhed, beinfi nailed to the crofs of Chrifi. One (tdkx-

. » ••! t . ..i.-»f«- I-,.'-* /.i»»l •*♦*;•;

ing circumftance with which the prediQioii concludes
— the deftru£lion of the city and fanduaryT— was ,fuC-
pended during the fpace of about 37 yearsj^ t|MtJfS»^a.
perio4 before tbe,4hen exilling gez^^rationjhouldj^
away. In that interval the temple and tjie fynagogqes
w^re kept op^n fo;thp diC^^ipl^^ of A^^f^icf^ 4i|J^
the appftles rcrfbrtipg ,W|Bpkly 911 the. day of:ibfel«»iff»l
fabbatb, wh^:|h? .wming^ pf Mqfe^ aiAihll I«9i^M9
were publicly read» >c^ c^ejily allege nA:J^f(Sn%^
of tbofc fcriptuce?, that Chrift I^uft ^^\^,fyli^ffi^.^
lifcD from the d<»d i tM this J«^ WhwA t^ p^^

W^ 4He Mefliaub ; Slid that, iff cdnctemning' hiin» ihdc
fillers had fulfilled all .that the vibices of tihe prophets had
iforeU>Id*. - By this providential difpofitibn iof things di^
th^ iiemple an<!l fynagogties' in Jud^, ahd ovsV the wide
Romari emtiire, eventually lerve as hiirrefies fogr the in^
iancy oftfae Chriftian church. Before all the^^i epollleii
iiisere called to Teal theif teitimony iy martyrdom, they
tiad this biiish&ion to lee the doSrine of. .the newco^*
Venant to be made With the hoiife of Ifrael and with the.
bouTe 6f jiidah; widely difFem'triated iby their iabouils J
ini the oTd covenant rskified . on Hor^b, its x)rdinances
having theii become beggarly elqmerits, ready to vanifli
away+. It is i/bdrlhy of ieinkrk, iJiat, as tb^ firA.ye$c
df ChriA^s niiritftry tan .parallel witfel a juKile jn the pi$«
iiiitLve Cfriei from Jdfhiia, fo tE?. laft began with a
fabbatical reftiti the fecondary &ties»..a3 ceAqred b^r
Nehemiah. The coiidutipn is^ dvtt the duration of
this liiinillry ii defiiied by a memorable. pfophecy» and
its iWo tehiis.{coiiiniehcement and. period) a&ertained;
by two national cycles. ; -

iTlikewire'eiidedwitb'a pbtfover, ibkninked at^e^.
cufalem oh the very, fame day of* the week and of die:
iiiOQn^ wliich cbarafieriieid the firft obfervanceof tl^ii

P^ AOfim, ftf. c|i..||r.^|^, add 9h.:<wt/ii .

f H^ yiii, .8^J)3.,^CjiwmcDtator$: 4fid., jC3d*^..ffQ)hjeraBjrr
%S^jLjy.63f .(^^^ .J^^i's before thf^d^fpia^tiQn pf the city
iaA ianiHe by ^elpalSaiD), for t^e date of this cpiaie. In this-
i4ew^ the mcnttoh of the Sitiai doviiiant asfuperannuaited, and'
about to vanifh away, (UaitntifAtm mI yniUw»f iyyvt i^iw^v)^
feentrfi^ be prophetical. '

O a feftival

1^6 C'h it'6 *> o t o g y

fefiival at Raamdei m Egypt. The intenral \r ^te^
dfely 1526 folar tropical years from the Exodus^ 2i9
feptenar/ periods of years; and were the faiteMidiate
fpace iheafured by. weels of days, the finn wpuid' hi'
complete^ without one day deficient or fopemnnierar/.'
If the fubjedl be brought to the teft bf cijcuiatioa'
in its numerous . and complex forms, all tht 'diSereni
operations terminate in one feif-conCAent and. infallible^
conchjfion^ ..^ : :. ./

It has been evinced that Jefus was baptif^ at •A©'
expiration of his 34th year. It may :be" alleged,' tbat:
the analogy to the Ipgal age of cofifoctadng the Aarbrtit
lirtil priefts is thus vfolatedk But ChriftrAfeas k prieft oi
a fuperior rank, an4*ia dhllnft ordkr;* ^^^' It ii evidiiir^
that our Lord f^caug out of Ju^ah, itf which ctiibc!
Mofcs fpailce nothing (concerning priefthobd :*;:*'' He wal^
made under the la w^ a rubje£l,l>ut not affifnifto^ofthaif
^fery difpenfation which he cam^ firft!to cprifommate^
abd then 40 l^bfogat^l . N|y cmo' inftance'occots of- his
performing the facerdotal funftiohs' of the Hebrew,
rituahr. 'Qo: die contrary,- as ioften as be perforkned
miraculous cares on ^ the perfons - of lepers, he always?
joined, them to ihew themfetvcs. to --tUe priefts. '. The
objeAion is on thefe grounds impertinent. '

It has been (tn^vXif'o^tStei^ th^^jiftisfolemmftd

x)pt ia tbe temple, .pr^jpn the .natioual aljtart but. Ui

• Heb. vU. 14. J . ? i '...-J . . --^

w »

►V :*'::! i ^ private

9f Tib &R2 u ^ Iff a^*^ 197

priv^t^ haufc,^It.may be added too, that nrany learned
f rides have been weak or ridiculous enough to return
k a ferious anfwer. Th^, learned Jpfeph Mcdc fome-
V^here kicf lies to this efTefl (though perhaps in different
words);. ^^ As Chrifl was himfelf the ten^ple, the altar,
the oblation, and the prieil, all thefe formalities were
fuperfeded/' This may be approved as a vigorous fen^
tinieot, but muft be rgeded as a feeble anfwer. Much
more proper it is to note, that the ordinaace ttfelf was
out of date, a new inftitution being that very nig^t
fubftituted as a memorial of better things. Or rathcr»
as juft now hinted, the \f hole ritual of facrifice and ob-
lation had virtually' itoafed at the "time of Chrift's bap-
tifm. This paflbver was the laft a A of conformity
with the prefigurativc ritual* For Jefus, while di£>
penfing that ordinance of fubftitution, the lacrament of
his own body and blood, thus exprefled a change of
adminiftration already begun : *^ Verily I fay unto you,
I will not henceforth drink of this fruit of the vine^
until that day when. I drink it new with you in my
fatherV kingdom ♦/*

*'Mat. xxvi. 29. Our Lord in thefe words inti^tes his
iMelation to partake neither of the pa0bver, nor of the new
lacramefity till the tilings fignified by both ftiould be fulfilled
if},tbe go^Ml difpenfatiDni.ywhich ^as aigh at haxu) i or that he
would not part^e..with th^fn in any joy, t!|) he r^joiped with^
them in the communications of the j^ioly Spirit. Macknight*8
parmony, 545.

O 3 Chronology

. • rf-^-" -

f99 p«H9.pNpfoev

-■..I.' s..it ^

phiwi9logf j^ HfiROb, Augustus, ii7»^TxB;£Riy^
K£Rt>9 including that of]t^\)S.CiiK]^'^ifnmtbff
firjl Juj^lAK Tfor /» iht Acceffim rf:C^hlQ^^%Ai
adju/l€dt9 tbi ViUtRQN JAN JTcars ^ R.pi(iz.

. A. P. j. 466^

]Refonnation of the Roman pajendat A • M* 396^ ^XQ ^3
j. Firft Julian year. Tiberiiw bom A^ U. Vaf. 705^

j^ Julius Cefar aflaflinated - - 710

3* Battle at Mutina. Finft dohfulate of P3ar

viuft - - - - 711

4h Defeat of Brutus and CaOilis at Phiiippi ,^ 712

6. Antigonus and H^rod rival jctngs in Judea 7141

■9* Antigonus (Iain. Herod reigns - T^7

3^. . Battle at Adium - - '^ 73tj

16. Firft year of the Roman empire. - 724]

l^« Ccnfus and hiftrunl reftored <w *« 71^

57^.- He^d l^e^bts to rebuild' thdteimplc - 73 ^

99* It was niiide fit for fervice^ iA two years - 7*37-

38. A fecond lufirum. Herod dedicatel the

temple - - - - - 746

4t. Chnft' born. An enrolment at Bethlehem 74g

<■••.. .1 ••.-■.• .^ .• • • . . . * . *»

4,2. Herod die*. Tnie date of the Chriftian era 750

45* Bionyfian^ pr Vulgar, year of the Nativity 753

46.' Firft y^at^bif the vulgar em - - 7545

54.' ArcJhelauJT dethrbrfed - - - 7«*

53. Chrift 17, years old. Cyrenius levifps a tax" 761

^7. Tiberius joint emperor - - - 765

^^5 Anguflus folemnifes a lullrum and dies 766
.* 59. Tiberius .

^Tiberius Ntptid. i§|

59. Tiberius (bte emperor. Val. Gratus procu-

xator of Judea J - - 'j6f

• 6$« Val. Gratus recalled - • • 777

71. P. Pilate fuccecds^ 15th of Tiberius. John*i
mimftry begins. Jefus about 30 years
old - - - - . 77d

75. Jefus Is baptifedy tempted, works miracles,

preaches - - - -783

76. Pblegon's ecHpfe, m the 4th of the 202d

olympiad ♦ - - - 78J

77. Crucifixion ... 786

78. Tiberius dies, in the 78th of his life and 23d .

of his reign * • - - 78(7

A. M. 4o4»2
Jul. Per. 4747

* Thrs eclipfe, as a charader of time, it extremely amblgu*
lous. Even the year is ttncertain. The fragment preferved by
l^ufebius runs thus, t« >i iti» -m; rZ OXttfxntahi iynnt tn^^u^
nXiou fjtiytcn rmt iytug-fxtvuv fr^oncv, atai »«£ eSfa c ms njfAifat tyinro m^ru

»it ao-Ttpm't tiioiifkfm^*wi, ** But otk the (o6) yea/of the aoi4
olympiad wa6 a very great eclipfe of the fiin, fucti as was not
i^oriherly known, and nig:ht came on at ttie 6th hour of the
day (i» at noon), fo tliat the ftars wet'e Vifible in thefirma-
irt'^Fnt.'*

Such is tbe y^ue s^cc^nt of this viery ftran^e phetiothenditr.
il^itfbp Beveridge, nlikidj; a valtt effort to ftrike a fpark outi tf
c^i^bSf propofes an eiiiendatibn iii the firft claufe. T« ^ irii,
fie diaiig^s into tw ^ iTfi».fo as to tt^dsfbhxi the particle h^
'^/^^ Into the ni:|tterical ^,4, atid t&us rehders the words, ift
$ii 4th'j^di^ tf fbe iQ%d ofjiOfiaJ, Hd Adtoit UtAt correaSon as
• ' O4 «^t

*

^tOO C:H RON O L O* O X

*tiot imf^robable, ftill no month ^nd no day of a moni^ is %}•
^jied. Aflroiiomers aire puzzled in the feafch of a nalura}
cclipfe of this luminary at that hoi^r, in a ferics of years befory
6t after that olympiad. But though this rc{)ok trere marked
with more cfiaradters oi verifimjlitude, the 4tli of the-aoid
olympiad was the year before the (crucifixion ;< aiMl tbefe^f-
cordant notations of time cannot be brought into tk^ point of
Coincidence, withoi^t either antedating our Lord's bi4h, or
abridging the years of his life. If one or the other be ddne»
fill the links which compofe the compact chain of cbronologi-
cal chafaftcrs above conftruded, for the biftory of moife than
f 6 centuries, are violently torn ^fuiider. ;

In a lefs advanced ftage of calculation, the tii][ie was-when
that preternatural darknefs^ fuppofe it did happen at the time of
our Lord's paflion, obtained the credit of a very ftriking colla*-
leral teftimony in Confirmation of the goipe) hiftory. As fuch
l)r. Clarke confidered it, ip the firft edition of his Sermons, at
JBoyle's I^edtufe. In the full perfuafion that this corner-ftone
5vas fufficieyit to fupport any quantity of preffiire, that great
man fet forth the argument, with all the advantage it could
derive from his eminent abilities. His friend Dr. Sykes fug-
jfeftcd the impropriety of refting the caufe of Chriftianity on
equivocal proofs, and prevailed with him Jo expunge it froin
the fubfequcnt impreffions.

The argument has fince'been revived, and the teftimony of
Phlegon vindicated with a needlefs parade of genius and eru-
dition. In thiii crontroverfy JDr. Chapman diftinguifhed him&lf
in a manner vy^biph might have done fervice to a better caufe ;
and thofe who approve his fentiments of the fubje^, boaft that
pis defence • is not ye^ convided of weaknefs or fallacy. It is
a very unacceptable fervice to undeceive fuch as have fdlea
into a pleafing reverie. Si populus decipi vult, decipiatur.
Mean time thofe who have not yet contracted an infiirmount-
able, predil^iStion in favour of Phlegon's authority, are cau-
itioned to withhold their full alfent, till it be certain that the

phenomenon

■ « ~ ■ .

fiiieaoinenQn ^nder examination was obferved on the very daf
pi the cruqifixiQO. Aftronomical charafters arc not to be ap-
plied at random. A deep eclipfe of that pafchal full moon*
tike- that which happened at Raamefes on the night of thcfirft
. :|iafluver, could it be certifted by calculation » would be 1^1191^
piore to the purpofe.

Chriftianity acquires no credit from injudicious defences,
jind lofes no itreagth from the removal of totterin^^ bulwar}u.
/The time was when the infpiration of the facred writers was
not judged fufficient, except t}ie attribute of infallibility were
likewife afcribed to every amanuenfis. Printers, however, it
was obferved, had fallen into fome miftakes, and MSS. were
'jiot found to agree in every minute circnmftance. Critics were
cautious of corredking palpable errors, left they (hould incur
.the fufpicion of herefy. No fboner was it admitted, that the
facred texts in fome paflages were faulty, than Freethinkqri
pave the alarm that uncertainty pervaded all. Bentley^ by
(hewing that the multiplicity of various readings affords the
means of reftoring the tnie fenfe, defeated infidelity by repel -
ling its weapons on itfelf. Chriftianity has fuffered nothing by
jLhe objedions of the learned to the credibility pf the thunder-
ing legion, to the early cefTation of miracles in the primitive
' church, to the viOon faid to have been exhibited to Conftan-
tine, to the defeat of Julian's attempts to rebuild Jfemiyem,
Nor would the grounds of the Chriftian fiith be ihaken,
. (hould certain writings, which fpme vifionary critics believe to
be canonical, be pronounped fpurious.

t '

G£N£AL00y#

»* Ge^hai.o&t

^^^'^^^^^^*'**^^*^*^^''"^^^^^**^'^^*'^^**^

Gfinsalogy from David to Jefus Cbrijl.

fntroduffion,

^ XARIOUS as the parts of naturi^ ai>d tbe ereote.

Y of time arjc the fubjefts of hifiory. Of na»-
fure's p?rts fome ?re ftatiodar}', ever in the fainc poQ-
tlon wUli rcfpedl to others, and coexifient with all fup-
pofable times^ as the Alps, Horeb, Nipbates. Another
clafs is partly coexiftent and p^^ftly fucceflive, as th^
genei^tions of animals and men j " One geueratitni
pafleth away, and another cometh ; but the eardi
abideth for ever : the fun alfo rifeth and the fun goetI|
down, and haAeth to the place where he arofe.'*

Herji ia fuggefted the idea of motion in a pei^toa||
tircmtv yet perfedly confifient with pcfmanem and ttT

lative reft. The fun feVolves 6q hi^ axisi the planets

* .1-,

on theirs ; and all round the fun^ as the centre of one
harmonious fyAem. With refpe£l to this common
centre, and to one another, the lefler orbs in the im«e

t

roenfe expanfe are fometimes in a fiate of approach|
fometimes of elongation, and their circumvdlutipns,
though not always equable, are upon the whole. \in\^ -

form : pri in other words, the amount of their mouons

... « '*^

7 from

fubfirvieni to jGR^OJNOtooy. $^

Arom one poiat of their circuits to the fame agairi^ i$

•

Reducible to a mean quantity.
ja^^&XQZ^^ • in it& general i;haiaftery wbiitfa^r tradl-
tionai or written, implies composition — an aiTem*-
ijage of incident^ and fa£ls eonAined according to the
relations of time^ piac^^ arid .ordefi and confidered aft
prior^ contemporaty, or fubTequent.

Historical time is the ireful t of aftrohotnical
Irieafures^ in their re^titibiM firom one firlt point lA
dui^tion, whence planetary motions are fupj^fed %6
Have begun, or from any fixed' period gehertiWy k'noMrff,

Time, in its abftraft nature, is one fubjeft of meta-
phyfic. Chronology treats of it in its parts, and their
fompofifio'n into an* ititlfgral quantity, as a year/ lufaar,
folar, fidereai \ the ntechahiftii df civil years, iti their
ykrious ^rms and dim^nGbn& ; circulating' ahd fixed
periods, national eras; &c.
' Ai.L incidents, as earthquakes ahd htirricaries ;- and
fa6ls, as the rife and* fall of etnpires, improvement in
^i?s, revoliitiohs in governments, and ivliatever elfe
nieriti a place in the records of time, happened soM£-
l^HEJtE ; in fome ceitain- Ijpot of the terraqueous
^16be ;• in one of Vnt four regions into whicli it is di*
yidetf; in ia paiticufat-'provTrii^bf city. Thi)s criterion
derives the attribute 6F certainty from the identity and
P^Mkdcfnc^ of relatl^ diftances ; as the circuthftince
^ tiiti^ depends On the uhiforhilty of its liaiUtcd itiea^
fures, and inftituted inpdes of computation,

Chronolody (including the application of ^ftro*
pdny) has been called the life and (bul of biftorji^

without

f/0^ -Geneaxco-y

wlthoQt.yriiicIi it is but aconfufed lump^ without forni%
Geography afligns to the feveral parts pi biftory their
fur^per pofition.; the tranfa£Uons either deriving io^-
portance from the place, jor the place from the traafr
afUoDS* fiiiU farther ; all incidents and faQs relatcf^
|]^rrGuns» whether individuals or commux^ip^ x^onfider^
cd as the agents or the pa£l;y^ jubJ£i6U« i

[., Tpj^ pribcipal ckcumftances of hiftorical bBs are
therefore three, correiponding to as many queries, witb
their anfwers^ wh£N, where^ to whoMs or iy
'JVHO^ wc^e they don^ ? »

•**-■•■ ■ ' ,.

I. \Vhen was. the law promulgated? In the (ipv

ginning of the 26th century from the creation.

ip ;Wh£ii£^ Fiona. Moi^n^ Si^ai pr |ioreb is^
Arabia. . i . ^

3. To WHOM ? To the 12 tribes of Ifrael^ plunder
the miniftry of Aaron and Mofes.

Notations of time, place, and perfonagcs, if not
entered in records, are foon disfigured by report,, an4
muftat j^ft fink into utter oblivion. But on the rapjre
important^ hiftory confers jjpimortality. CJommjJOitic^.
like individuals, die, and the race becomes immortal by
fucceffion. Generations pafs in a train t.

THUf is acquired an aflditional rcfource in cpmpu-
tatic|n, whence hiftofy 4^^ iypf congruity with invariablf

• Stfllingflect, Orig, Sacratr, Bi i. «. . i

t Ei^o tpfas quamyis angufti tenainus «vi *

Excipiat, gf xMfi immortale ^lai^j^t. . '\. Vifg« Qeorgw iv..2«8.

^ . . / . nature,

JuhJenAitit n OHia>rtoiSocY. t^j

nafture, aiiif chrotiological At^hSmt: '* Sirlfiac Nevt^-a
fob was the fitit bP the i»odtrns wrhp ajppliedittith; liifCA
dds. this fimleBe term for difeoveries froni tht^ hetchfo^
g^neoiis fragments of pagatr my fiibldgy • It is now tdii
ktetoregitt that he^'did not 'ex?miinerby Ais teft thd
chronology asnd hifloty of therBSWe. The 'fiapl>y: tfei
fulty had tlie experiment been tried; muft have beeld aHf
acquifition'tQ facred hterature. A« mfhtnce or two of
What might 'have betti done \*4ll fuffice.. ' '-

. t . , • < ■ ♦ • l4

Example^' t. . . »

According to the Hebrew text and our pubKef
verGon,the fons of Jofeph wereManafTeh arid^Ephraim*'.
In the Greek tranftation, Machir, a fon of ManafTeh^
and Gilead, a fon of .Machir; together with Sutalaam
and Taarf), two fons of Ephraim, and- Edom, a fon of
Sutalaam, are exprefled by their nanies in the reg^er
of Jacob's family who accompanied him from Canaan.
In an age when the chronology of that vague, licern
tious verfioft is held in fuperior eilimatioti to the ori-
ginal, the defence of the Hebrew genealogies niay peiC
k^ps expefl: a cool reception/ Let the merits of thb
tW6 authoritt^ be weighed in aii equal balance.
* ^* Jofeph was 30 years old when he interpreted Pha-
raoh's dreatos. His two fons were born before the
years of famine icame +.*' This is a flifewd intimatioii
tliattSey^i^Wyoting.' From the dungeon was Jofepii
haftily brought in unto Pharaoh* Is it prt>bable-that

♦ Ccn.xlvi. a#. • • ' ^ t Gen. xlf. 46. ^o.

•• ' ' a yoUng

io6 ■ -^Gik kfii.oG^ v'^v-

t yobhg fiianger and a ilsve, tommitted't^'pttTon uiidei
a falfe charge of criminaKty, fliodd hzi/i niztriki cfai
liigh ptJeft^s daughter; and thiu tohttzA miniiy yiitb
Aat very family whofe honour, it iirajl mjvtHly {aul/iv^
bad attempfeed td ftain, l>efore his intxtldudiofi io Jh^
kingf Commoil fenfe i^monftraUii. joleph's a^ lii/
the &cond year of the famine, ti^hen Maiiatfeh touii
tot be more than eight . years otd, or Ephraiin mpiit
than feveily wa$. 39; But Jacob at the thi 6f tb¥j pf
the beginning of the next year, brought thtir foni
and grartdfons into Egypt ! Whfere could the tranflator^
6nd the natnes ? Hot ill the I'v^ of Mofes, bm X)hi i
iRuch more recent catalogijie *i r:

r t

«: BE^JAMiiN, itii wdH kno^Hi tvaii.ttx^J'piiuiigelljC^
fiUi:J«cob'$ family, and his agfe at the migritii^n Itcbtt
£ai|iapn could liot exceed 24, (if it ^iere fb m««cb]b 5^
te of hb foris ah; faid^ in the HeWew ^x^ at^ Oredt
Vitlg. to have been in Jacob's fetintie. The Al^xdiiv
drine Gr. Pentateuch admits oidy tbree for foifSj B<fl9&
deeher, and Alhbd. Of ihe other iix^ five .ai^e p^iAi^
&ns sKid one great grandion. Kennieot, m istl his Hif-
(i^rtations, feem^ x^x. to have obferyed the di^9id|y f
iprfakh &)«v(rt tbflit tbe prbted an4 manctfcriptf^Pi^^^^
1$ Hoalf^rayly crromDO^. Tb^ 6rror is ^m^^jfirft, il»rjti{^
UhM 99me^ aie all copiird ft^i^ cittalogt^^; of aj^

♦^ €hron. viL 1^ xti^

dtfte.

fuhfetVWit to pHROKp/inOGY. ^;j

date *, , %^.f f» ^te fWc^v4<ffo^Rt/q^.fhe..forn^^
<^tt)^,H^};^ejjir.te?.t? It haf un&appHy.-efqgpedjIlp
ffgac.it^' \#/th^''fe^ ^ml^., . Nat^r.al is,%

cjg^jeaur^.tb^t jfp.^e.fcijil;^ or.Q^p^.Qf a .cc^y^ .w|^

Q)U t4[ie jc^ /djjgfigaiof aft ioterpolatio^) xprgjsjc xnafk.fMX

(d^cy ii> lihenttm^f?^. apd .tjjipktpg the. corfc/Sliqa

proper and ^leqeff^jfr Vi&^J^ t??^ -^be gfanjlfcm ift^a.th?

^W- .,, .::. ,. ••• •-.-:-.. /

, Qthrr ipifj;an(?e^,of wotd^, numbers, orientjjncqg^

left out, intRrpoIatc^, oir .change^, by accid^nt^ -or rty
officious and unfkilfyl hands^ fr(:jm.thf,i|ip|jv9iior(eppigft-
dation, it were eafy to produce* Thofe fele£lefi in thjqi
enfoing chapters ^hXt fplely t^ the fubje£l of gepe-f.
alogy, and are fuch as may be reconciled with thf
courfe.of naturq^by rcflorij3g.nun^eriical,fignaturef gf ^
fimilar figure, for whicb thof^ aow ejctant iji thpjOrj;*
gjnal texts, ftjena: to have been by Jxii^ake.fi^ftitule^;jj
In notatiops of number, ,fh^ %f^ wntings ^{qo^;;'
afC ngt regrehpn^blis. Whp could,, iraagir^ tbat;,,aj|
tbp Roman hifto]:ians, m and after. t^ie ^gp of i)yj^if ftuf,^
iit^puj^j fi^ ^W^^ rcpipucMi add tvvjp fttll ypars ta^^
ihprt fpacp between tt^e birth ?pd d^sfcth pf Tjbcri^r
■ * , , . . . < •

• ScQ ,x C^TQ^.yu*^*' apd f:h. viin |. • 5fte #lfp I^Hpi. xiiivi^
}8— 4X« and Will's N<^tc on Gen. xlyi. ax, AJ t}^c tl^|%f]| Ij^.
mufter in the Wildernefs, the number of ]^enjj&inip's defbwd-
ants might be 46^600, but he couid not have on^ sprandlToB at
the defcent into Egyptt

Nc^o^

.• v<

Nero'f That fome of them did take notice of a com*
partnierfhip in forereignty ; btft none made the rcquifite
dedu£tion ? That all defined accurately (he laft current
year of that prince's life, and all miftook that of hii^
nativity and deceafe i That they left on record the'
means of afcertaining the true computation ? And that
(he evangtflift Luke fiiould be the only \^riter of that
age who charaflcrlfed, with chronological precifiony ^he
i5th of that reign from its true commencement ?

In exprefling ths degrees of kindred, the facred hif-
torians,' conformably with the idiom of 'their language^
ufc confiderable latitude- Any dcfcendant was not
improperly denominated of the firft defcent. Ezra,
dfter at lead four intermediate generations, is dcfcribed
Sis a fon of Seraiah ; and the infirm woman on whom
Jefus performed a miraculous cure was, after an interval
of thrice 14 generations, called a daughter of Abraham* •
Sometimes even a fenior relation, by a political or figu^
rative fonfliip, is accounted the immediate (kfcendant o£
a junior predeceffbr in office, as in the cafe of Zede-
liah, who is promifcuoufly called the father's brother,*
the brother, and the fon of Jcconiah f. Among \bd
Hebrews, fucceflion to the fame throne was equivalent
to adoption. From the penufy of their language thtf
Old Tellament writers could not, with fufficicnt mf*
nutenefsj diftinguiQi by one appropriate term every ra-^
jnification in genealogy,

^- * . .. • . . . • , ■ . • •.

* E^ra, vii. x. Luke, xiii. 16. '

f i idngt/xxiT. 17. t Chron. xxxvl, 9- and i Chron. iii. i6v

Sof

,3

Jhiferokra to Ct^RONOLbGY. 26^

So copious however was the Roman totigue^ tliat
every degree of confanguinity and alliance by marriage^
both in the tranfverfe ind direfi line^ might have been
dircrimiriated by a proper aiid feparate word. Yet even
thetr beft hiftorians are not exempt from inaccurate tio-^
tationt of relationfiiip.. One exathpls fiiall fuffice*

The tW9 Tatquiks.

^^ TkADitiON andhifiory faid, that ^uperbus wa$
the fon of Prifcus ; — that Superbus fought on horfe-
back at the battle of Regillus; that Collatinus, the
huiband of Lucretisi, was the ibn of Egerius, nepheiy
of the elder Tar^uin. No> fays DionyfiuSi none of
thefe things can be tiiie ; for they are n6t conGIlenl
with the Jong reigiis of the kings. He prodiicei "ocf
authority ag^infi the fads \ nor does be know who was-
the father of Superbus^ or the father of CoUatinus»
But he reafons from the received chronology, and con*
dudes, contrary to all hiQorical teftimohy, that Supers
bus was Hot the fon but the grandfon of Prifcus ;— *tha<
he did tfot fight cb horfeback at the above-^mentionec)
battle ; and that CoUatiAus wKS not tfie fon^ but {td
grandfofi of Egerius/'

«< LiVYf on theothe^ hand^ thoiigh he durft not
openly contr^jEl the ^ceived chronology, feems ta
have been fully perfuaded that it tras not fo well
vouched as many hiftorical fa£ls» with which it vM
incompatible. He therefore adheres to the fa6b, and
leaves it to fiich not^le criiks- at Dionyfius to re-

P conciie

210. . Genealogy

concile them with the chronology at welf * at they

can *.'•

Here now is a dignus vindice nodus ; a knotty point
brought to the tribunal of crittcirm for decifion. Be
it in general obferved, that Hooke groftly mifreprefents
Livy, who with hi» ufual hefitation in matters of very
remote antiquity, expreffes his uncertainty whether
L. Tarquin were the fon or grandfon of Prifcus, with-
out (ignifying either approbation or cenfure of the po-
paTar chronology f : nor does this author combat the
more dcciGve opinion of Dionyfius in the fpirit of
impartial arbitration, but rather with the vtotence tod
(kill of an expert gladiator.

For his determination Dionyflus afligns Very appo^
(he reafons, which (eem to be founded on the report of
authentic hiftory, then but not now extant; and bis
ultimate inference is deduced with every criterion of
confcious iincerity and truth.

' This AttalyGs has exceeded its ideal boundaries*
Dionyfius points the whole of his artillery againft Fa-
bius Pifior, whofe Roman Hiftory is long fince loft«
The arguments of his opponent (Dionyfius) muft diere-
fore be comprefled into the leaft prolix fomr of .abbre-

. * Hooke's Rom. Hift. o^bivoy ]pref. p. ^i. tiere it noie-
ference to the pa(Iages of the authors whofc tefljmpny it de-
tailed. Confult Dion.* ItaiicamafT. book ivi "AIM. yoli'fl.
r* 153* in S]pelman*s TranOation; and T«*Bivtu&, lib. i.
Gap. 4f. ^. / • ^' . .. t^,-* . ; ^ -■•r**.*

. \ Prifci Tarquinii regit Alius .j)cpolft[cfi4^t»mri|patli^iiet;
plurlb\i5 t^men audoribut .fUitt|;a cdMeriin. locticit. ,. ,.

viation.

fuhfervient to CHRONOLOGY. 211

viation. The introduftory fentencc it is, however,
proper to tranfcrlbe at large,

«* I HAVE fufpended the narration of what follows
that I^ttiay give the reafons which induced me to dif-
agree with Fabius, and the reft of the fiiftorians, who
affirm, that the infants Tarquinius (Prifcus) left were
the fons and not the grandfons of that prince ; for ihofe
writers have very inconfiderately and negligently pub-
liftied this account, without examining any of the im-
|>o(Iibilitles and abfurdities which deftroy its truth;
every one of which I (hall endeavour to point out in
a few worlls."

This author*s work, no lefs valuable as a treafury
of Roman antiquities than as a regular hiftory from
Romulus xo the 312th Varronian year, may in this
cafe be admitted to have the authority of a genuind re-
cord. It teftifies that PrifcuX, with his wife and family,
came to Rome, according to Gellius, in the firft, or ac<*
cording to Licinnius in the eighth, of Ancus Marcius,
whofe reigtr was 24 years ; — ^that his age, at the latter
term, could not , be under 25, and all agree that he
reigned 38. He muft by this reckoning have died at
the age of 80 ; or hy the former, 88. Suppofe his
wife to have been five years younger than himfelf, fhe
was 75 or 83 at his death. Their three fons could not
then be infants ; for fuppofe the youngeft born in the
50th of his mother's life, he was at the leail 25 at the
death of his father, and the eldeft (Superbus) 27. He
is /aid to have been in the vigour of lif6 when he flew
Servhis Tullius, a^r a reign of 44 years ; and indeed it

P 2 required

21^ Genealogy

required vigour to drag the fovereign fFom his throne*,
carry him in his arms out of the fenate^ and throw
him down the flairs. Superbus reigned a; years, anc)
^74*444*^5^9^ : at which advanced age he was ex-
pelled* But flill, as the report goes^ his a£livity was
unabated ; for the fame year he prefided in the waf
againft the Ardeates, and during tJ. yeaurs more con*
dufied in perfon a long train of mililafy operationft-
againft the new repubKc. Thus, according ta the hi£*
terians, whofe authority this writer reje£lsy Superbus
lived above no years. On the whole, Dionyfios
agrees with Pifo Fnagi, in^ affirming that Superbos and
bit brothers were not the fons, but the grandfona ef
Frifcus. This conclufion divefts of credibility the
opinion to which Livy inclines, but does not,, in pbift
terms, aflert. In one refpe£k however die two acpoontt
are confident : for if Collatinus were »iKphew,'SikT
perbtts mig^t be a grandfon, of the firft Tarqium-

Examtnaiion of Mr. H09W5 Hyp^hifo^

As a ihenuous advocate for Sir I. Newton*s cpinbn,.
concerning the duration of the regal^ Aate in Rome^ he
delivers that opimpn in detached parts, and in tfaeie«
fpe£lable authoc'9 owa wordf% Sufpeding that Sir
Ifaac's arguments were ooe fufficient Id n^ake a generiyi
impulfeon the publict.and induce fuU eonvi£Uon, lie
fuggeib a variety irf auxiliary proof»» . But if his va^
tbor'$ar|ang^ipe(it8;lh«lI ksi found eqt^iyocalr ^lufarjr^
or incongruous with his Own fuodameolal principle%

they

Jub/er^mt to CHRONOLOGY. SIJ

they muft be fet afide, as indefenfible. Thefe principlts
tore tbus coneifidy ftated.

^rTKE 14 kings of the Latines, at as years apiece
one inrith another, amount unto 280 yean, and thefo
years, counted from the taking of Troy, end in the 38th
olympiad ^^ Thus are 432 years reduced to a8o : ^< and
the feven reigns of the kings of Rome, four or five of
them being flain, and one depoled, rn^ay, at a moderate
reckonings amount to 15 or 16 years apieod one with
another ; let them be reckoned at 17 apiece, and they
will amount to abouf 119 years ; which being counted
backwards from the Regifuge, end aifo in the 38th'
olympiad : and by thefe two reckonings Rtmie was buiit
in the 38th olympiad^ or thereabout^'' Hiflorians aflign
to the feven kings a period of 244 years* The deduc*
tion from this article is 125, from the other 152, and
the fum total 2751.

Painful it is to infinuate a difapprobation of the
venerable Sir Jfaac Newton's poftulates and conclufions)
much more to pronounce them e(juivocal and fallacious \
but it is un»70tdable.

The 14 Icings of the Latins belong to the fiibulous
timest prior to theera<>f a Gorte£l chronology, and of
authentic biftory. The duration of theiv reigns, either
fiepsralelyiM^€0lU^tvely,tsceftain<yi|mplified, as ufually
was do«^v But on petufmg four different copies of
thefe reigifH by Ovid^ Virgil, Diqnyfiud of Halicar«
fuflusi^l^d JLJvyv noi to m^tiott Others in diflbtent re-

•^•

^ Hookc's Pre&cc, p. i$.

P 3 cords.

214 Genealogy

corcb, the writer of this Analyfis ventures to afHrnif
that the names, number, order of fucceflion, and years
of fover«ignty, are in no two regifters the fame. As,
therefore, neither the number of princes, nor the quan«
lity of their diilinS governments, can with certainty
be defined, an equation is impra3icable. But if the
precife ijiterval from Latinus to Romulus, that is, from
the fall of Troy to the rife of Rome, can be afcer-*
taincd, let that number of years, whatever it be, fill up
the blank, and from this quantity^ as better known, the
intermediate reigns and generations will be no imprac-
ticable difcovcry.

The feven reigns from Romulus to the firft pair of
confuls belong to a different epoch, that of an aftrono-
mical chronology and genuine hiftory. The names of
the fovereigns are in every record the fame, the order
of fuccedion the fame, the length of each feign the
fame, and the aggregate fum the fame, the fpace' of
every interreign, as oft as it happened, the fame.. Why
then (hould Sir Ifaac Newton, by a plaufible artifice in
computation, confound the hiftorical period with the
fabulous?

^' Some of the Greeks,-' be obferves, ♦* called the
times before the reign of Ogj'ges unknown, becanfe
they had no hi (lory of them ; jthofe between'-tiis^ QooA
and the begintiing of the olympiads, FAAULOU6, be^
cauic their hiftory ^as much mixed with poetical f»»
bles ; -apd ^hofe. after the beginning of the oIympiadS|
hiftorical, becailfe their hiftory wa6 free from fuch
fables. The fabulous ages-wanted a good chronology;

and

Julfervteni to Chronology. 215

^a\Si fo alfo did the hiftorical for the firfi 60 or no
olympiads*.**

This is an ambiguous and confequently a quellion-
atle criterion. Seventy olynapiads make 280 years*
To bring the date of authentic' hiftory among the gen-
tiles fo very low> is to exjtend the fabulous age fo far as
to the fifth century nearly before the Chriftian era.
This populate is not to be admitted. Few hiftories' of
indubitable credibility indeed were then publifhed ; but
the olympiad from its reftoration, in the 34th of Uz«
ziah king of Judah» was an infallible term of compu-
tation ; and fa£ls chara£lerifed with this era are not
raflily to, be pronounced fictitious or fa^fe. This is not
the proper place for ample difcuflion. The inquifitive
and learned reader is referred to Dr. Mufgrave*s " Ex-
amination of Sir Ifaac Newton^s Objedions to the
Chronology of the Olympiads +.*^

The arrangements in " The Chronology of ancient
Kingdoms ^amended," are not only equivocal and elu-
tfive, but bconCftent with the aut^ior's own fundamental

principles. Fpr inflancet

•J

" Carthage was deftroyed in the confulfliip of Len-
tulus andMuraraius, A. P. J.. 45,68/' This was the
Varronian year, of Rome 6o8. A term in coniputation
«nce afiumedt for fixing the date of apy other biflorical'
incident^ ou|;h^ not to be transferred to any other point
4tf tim^^ becaufe the fource of Te^konii^ig^ if ch4Dgedt

■ ' - ■ '•■ ■

• Ancient Chronology amended^ page 44.

^ Lend. 13JI2J x)davo.

P 4 inifplaces

3f.6 GfNEALOCy

fpiiplfcesJhe 4ate pf the incident refling gn ithat bafif.
Sir Xiaac Newtoi^ afcribes to Carthage an exigence of
139. y^^Fi^ P"®^ f ^ ^^ foundation of Rwie« in. th^ (thi|r(I
je^f 0/ the fixth olympiad. Qut if tb^ foijpdfrtion b^
troj^gbt Jow^r by 1,30 ycarst neither tb^. rife nor fall of
^/irthage is determined. This arbitrary Quftipg of
terms is a fort of legerdemain in chronolqgy.
.>»tTP bxii\g difCTcdit on the long reigqsJroip Riomulu^
tp the fepond Tarq^in^ Sir If^iac JNewtpfi riem^rks, ^Vli>
the latter ages fince chronology hath be^Q ^xafl^ there.
isXcarcely an example of ten kings reigning any vyher$;
ip continual fucceflion^ above 260 years *.;' fl>at is, 26

ypars. the mean quantity. But Whifton, ^s qtioted by
HapJLCi ii> his *' Confutation of Sir If^^ N^^vton's
Chrpnology," obfcrves, that in £nglan4.we have bad
:t^l^£ fucc^fljve reigns, at almoft 30 year§ apie^^fi!e<(
Hcnrv I. to Edward III. . ,

TiV/tLV^ at almoll 28 ye^^s each, from WiUiaiq
the. Conqueror to Richard 11. ; , ■>

. . The French have had fix reigiv together, at almoll

40 years apiece, from Robert to .Philip IL .,.

' E;qht reigns, ^t above 35 yes^rs apiece^ from Robert
to .Lewis I J^.

Tbn reign^^alroofl 33 ye^jrs apiece, from Robert to,

Mr. Hooke is (o very can<li4 as to confefsj ?< Np>^
J think it ..i^uiL be grantied, that, tl^ samples virhtch
^r. Whifton has produced of long reigns ill fucoef*
fion, both in England and in France, would be fufiBcieot
fo make it credible, that the &;ven kings of Rome

7 reigned

fubfervient to CHRONOLOGY, ai7

reigned' as k>n|[ as they are reported to have dowc, if

therei w^e na obj^6tion to this report, but its beiog

UfiCdniiBloil tcV'Sndy in authentic and undtfputed hifiory»'

fcven kiogs' reigning in fucceffion 35 years, one with

jan6tlier*." ^Me produces, hmvever, four reafons of

di(&nt| iec forth vrith a fair (hew of plaufibility ; but

jtbey are nugatory,

< When monarchy was exchanged for the confuiate,

no great care was tirken to preferte ^he memorials of*

^ibitrary power. The palace and temple of Numa

squired veneration ; but even the very name of the

Tarquine family was tranfmitted with marks of infamy.

i^uch ftronger was the defire of configning,tfce whole

^ace to obHvion, than of perpetrating their names in

, " 4.

f h^ order of lineal fuccefSon. Though the peopl#^
immedi^itely after ihe revolution, decreed thd Veftoratioii
of Tarquin-s private eflates to his relations ; yet the fe-
nate deftroyed bis palace, and diflributed his lands
among the needy citizens, retatnilig for public life a
fmall portion of a field only, adjoining tHrif^t'Cknipus
^Uartiusy w{iich the l^ing had, by ufurpation, added to
bis^ private property. CoUatinus, that virtillbus and
brave patriot, finding fufpicion andjealoufy siiitacbed
Infeparably to his family and name, took the moderate
expedient of retiring into private life, even befom the<
expiration of the firft confuUhip. The records of the
old kip^ iir Latium, and thofe allb of the fecond feriea.
ffCQSfx Romiilas^ were loft in the conflagration of the

i :. -* • Hooke's Prcf. p. a^

capitoly

3iA Genealogy

capirol, fo early as the fecond century of rhc republic*'
Hence the numerous complaints of imperfeA and pe*
purtous materials in the Augufian agCi for confiruAing
a FiiU and continuous hiftory of the early times.

After an equal period of time from the diflbhiCioii
of the iate monarchy in France^ fliould the rage for
annihilating every reli6l of arbitrary goveromenC con*
timte ; (hould accidents and violence make alike havoc
of public archives ; — it may fairly be prefumed, (ix
oenturies hence, that antiquaries and critics will divide
int« parties concerning the genealogy of the French
monarchs from 1610 to 1774. In this interval of 164
j-ears, from the murder of Henry IV. to the acceffion
of Louis XVI. only three fovereigns occupied fuccef-
(ively that tlironc, the mean proportion of as many
reigns being 54 years eight months, Thofe numerous
and bulky volumes, which now have for their fubje6l
the ftory of a fingle reign, or of one kingdom^ will
then (brink into little abftra£ls, with very concife hints
of family defcents and dates. Serious controverfies
may then be agitated, whether the uncommon length of
thofe three reigns ought not, as incredible, to be re-
duced, or the intermediate generations multiplied*
' This example feems direttly applicable to theprefent
difquifition. Sir Ifaac Newton, in order to authen-
ticate his fcheme of retrenching 125 years. from the
regal government, prior to the republic, endeavpurs, by
t like effort of ingenuity, to invalidate the chronoloigjr'
of the firft 60 or 70 olympiads. If this arl-ahgement
be adopted, it will be altogether impoffible to ponneft,
' by

fulferuUnt to CHRONOLOGY. 119

by infalUble fynchronifms, the pro&ne hiflory with t}ie
lacped» aad to< reconcile any one. national era o£ tb^
gent1le':wiw}M wltlijanother. ,.-..,

The Julian period comprehends all other terms. \t%,
computation, whether circulating or fixed. Tt^is,
therefore, is the regulating meafure and ultimate teft to
which not only the firft, hut all the fubfequent yearft.of
the olympiads, of Rome, Nabonaflar, the Seleucidac, and
thofe of the world, mud be adjufted.

The number of the Julian period 3937, coinddeut
with A. M. 3232, and the 34th of Uzziah king of Jth«
dah, is not tht firft year of the firft olympiad, but the
cxclufive fource of computation. That year was bit
Textile, a chara6ier common to the lad or fourth of
every olympiad, and confequently A. P.J. 39389 and
A. M. 3233, was the firft of the firft olympiad.

The btiildkig of Rome was begun in the third of
the fixth olympiad A. P. J. 3960, A. M. 3255, the
5th of Jotham king of Judah, and the firft of Romulus,
the year before the Varronian computation, firft Jan.
A. P.J. 3961.

In A. P, J. 3967, A. M. 3262, the 12th of Jo-
tham, the 7th of Romulus, the 6th Varronian year, and
the fecond year of the 8th olympiad, began the famous
era of Nabonaflar, by which Ptolemy reckoned the years
of the four Pagan empires.

Thus, by a multiplicity of chronological charaders,
is a firm bafis laid for computation in the defcending
feries indefinitely. But remove the fource of the olym-
piads almoft three centuries lower, and that of Rome

"5

t2d Genealogy

12$ yttLTs^ the chain of chronology is broken» conne£l-
ing numbers mifplacedy and hiftorical order involved in
a labyrinth of perplexity and confufion inextricable*

That 34th year of Uzziah was the 202d of the
390 from the apoftacy of the ten tribes, and 88th be«
fore the conflagration of the temple, A. P.J. 4126,
A. M. 3421,, £r. Nab. i6o. This conflagration was
(he iirfl of the 46th olympiad, the year before the
archonfhip of Philombrotut : the i66rb Varrooian yeaft
and the 29th of Tarquinius Prifcus. But by two bold
anachronifms in the ** Chronology of ancient King-*
doms amended,'' is the connexion of the facred hiftory
with that of Greece and Rome, deferred not onlyi
without oeceiruy» hut contrary to authentic evir
dence.

Tp no purpofe does Mr. Hooke pretend that we
have no better authority for the long reigns of the (even
kings in Rome, than for the long reigns of the 14
kings of Alba, their predeceflbrs. The leverfe has
been eftablifhed. The very exiilence of many in die
latter clafs is doubtful ; whereas the exiilence of all the
kings fubfcquent to Numitor, is much more fully con-
firmed than that of many pairs of confuls uilder the
republic.

EqPALLy frivolous are the reafons urged forab*
breviating the reigns of the fovereigns after Numiton
The bift6ry of the longeft reigns, and of the moft adive
priiices, rtiay be comprifed within Very narirow limitSt
if the records of the times were deflroyed or little
)ux>Wny except the names of niagiftrates and the du*

ration

Jubfervient to CHROHOtOOT* ^91

lation of their offices ; which, it is admitted, was the
cafe in the early ages both of Greece and Rome.

On the whole, this defender of Sir Ifaac Newtoxi is
more fanguine than judicious. Ilis primaoj c^geji was
t6 abridge the chronology of the regal ftate in Rome
to an agreement with a retrenched and mutilated gene^
alogy. But the hlftorical evidence is much flrangeiv
nay decifively certain in favour of an additional gene-
ration between Prifcus and Superbus. Mr. Hooke
argued fallacioufly. By fetting Livy and DionyCos. at
variance, he artfully tried to fet afide the arrangeipieiit
of both. But a minute examination of their teftimonjr
invalidates the poftulates and conclu&om of Sir I£uic
Newton.

If theie remarks {hould be deemed rather difible^
fhey exemplify the (ubfervience of geneali^ to',|be
truth of computation, and the orderiy form of hiftoiy*
By inferting them here the fubjeQs of the enfubg ch^
ters, being in part anticipated^ will the mpsie Cdociicljf
be difcuflfed.

GHAF.

22a &EN EALOC^y

CHAP. I.

Second Series of XIV. Generations.

IN the ages prior to David, the fpaces between de-
fcents in families have been afcertained in the order
of occurrence; their application to chronology and
biftory having been neceflary only in certain emergent
circumftances. Henceforth the chronologer, if he re-
gulate his procedure with a due regard to generations,
finds thorns in his way at every ftep. David, the lall
of the firft feries from Abraham, w^s born, as already
rK>ted| in the loth of Saul, fucceeded him at 30, apd
after a reign of 40, died, leaving his thron&and ho^
nours to

I. Solomon.

In the hiftory of his life, the date of his birth is
not defined ; neither the time of his acceflion, nor the
years of his life. The duration of his reign over all
Ifrael (40 years) is twice recorded* : and hence, per-
haps, all the other notations may with tolerable certainty
be inferred. In the progreflive feries this difcovery, as
important, is defirable. Another biographical article,

* I Kings, xi. 4». and % Chron» ix. 30.

intimately

from David /« Jesus Christ. aaj

timately connedled with the hiftory of the times, has
an immediate reference not only to his (ingle reign,
but to the enfuing generations in the lineal defcents ;—
the date of his defeftion from wifdom. — All thefe cir-
curoftances are fo infeparably implicated with the fub-
fequent reign, that a feparate difquifition^ would be the
fource of many unavoidable repetitions; to prevent
which it is requifite to confider two complex fubje6bi
as one*

a. Rehoboam,

*< He was 41 years old at his acceflSon *.** This
notation ill accords with every circumftarice by which
Solomon's age is in general terms defcribed at the time
of his father's dcceafe. At that cnfis which broO^Irt
timidity and courage to the hour' and theatre of cori-
fli6l, the young prince [Solomon] overpowered by an
accumulation of new honour?, and arduous fervices,
which required a vigorous mind improved bythe habiti
of mature experience, he called himfelf ** a little
child +•** This phrafe is admiffible as a becoming ex-
predion of humility, not as a determinate chronological
diara£ler.

JosEPHUSj depending either on a conjeflure of his
own, or on vague tradition, affirms that Solomon was
then but a youth in age :j: ; and as he exprefles no
number, it may be prefumed that he meant a term

• I K?ng8,xiv. «t. % Chron. xii. 13,

t I Kings, in. 7. % Ant. viii. 1. 1.

under

224 G£N£ALO01f

tinder fulncfs of ftaiure. Afterward he fays, that tbti
prince died a very old man, having reigned 80 and
lived 94 years *• Hence it is obviotss, that the great
Jewifii hiftorian fuppofed that Solomon afcended the
throne at the age of 14. But the canoaical recorfif
allow but 40 yean for the length of bis ceign \ and if
thb quantity be dedu£led from his term of life, he inuil
bive died at the age of 54. Dedud 41 years for Re-
boboam's age at his acceflion, the furplus 13, for the
age of the father, is incompatible by deficiency with
the ttfual term of procreation. In computation, a dou-
ble genealogical paradox, relative to an individual,, mud
be reprobated f • If Solomon lived 94 years, this pr^
trafied term is not clafled with phyfical iropoflibilitieii.
but is incoofiftent with implicit charaQers in tbe biftoiy
of Solomon. Upon his choice of mfibmi m the
crown of human excellence and the beft gift of eQ^if
tial goodnels, abfolute was the promife of ricb^ tn^
bonours^ together with the fulleft meafuies of humm
wifdora ; not fo that of long life. To thia (fcondarjf
bleffing was annexed the condition of continuance jii
doing well. Solomon's degeneracy was ren^rk^ilc^
nearly refembling the fall of Lucifer ^ and it iy ictfceljf
fufqpoiable that Heaven would reward his egregious db-
fefibn with a length of days prolonged, to a period
then un^fuaK For many reafons referved for dbeir

* Ant. Tiii. 7. 7.

t No example of a child bom before tl^e f 6th of a fiither*t
life, has it been found proper to admit ia the Bible biftory,
aad ia this cafe it may eafily be avoided.

proper

from David /^ Jesus CiIrist. 42C , ^ -

jSfoper place, it is expedient to enlarge the number of A.'^/t^to^i
his ycarsjfc jl)oth at the tinje of Rehoboam's birth, and. ^^^^ ^^'^j<-
that of his ow n deatjp ^: /.y

UsH^R allows i8 years for SoIomon*s age at hii k'^-^ .
acceflion. This arrangement incurs no objedion from
the foregoing hiftory. But the chronology of thS^
times adniits, nay the courfe of nature requires, that his
iiativity be placed a little higher, to prevent, as much as

*

pofliblc, cmbarraffment and perplexity in the fequel of
the genealogical feries.

This date depends entirely on the time when Uriafi
fell by the fword of the Ammonites, then at war with
the armies of Ifrael ; and the rife of that war may,
with biftorical confiftenq', be fuppofed two years earlier
than the date afligned in the Annals^

By this adjiittment of events and numbers, Solomon
was born in the aoth of David's reign, and the 50ih
of his lifck The fon confcquently began to reign in
the 2ioth of his dwn age. But here a train of per-
pfexities fets computation at defiance. He died in the
6oth of his life. Hence dedu£l the 4.1 years of Reho-
boam, the refidue denotes the 19th pf Solomon. From
the courfis of nature no incredible or abfurd conle-
quence enfu«fs. But the hiftory both of the father and
the fon 'remonftriaites. With the two original fextt
fpecifying the age of the fon, almofi every ancient veir-
fioQ agrees, and the few variations afford no probable,
folution. Though the notations of nuoiber are uni-
form^ confent is uniformity in error. Many and forci-
ble reafons induce the belief, that the original notes of

(^ number

226 Gen ialogy

number have accidentally been enlarged. Of thefi»

reafons fome affcd the charafter of Solomon.

Rehoboatns Mother was an Ammonitefs.

"An Ammonite and a Moabite fliall not enter into
the congregation of the Lord ; even unto their loth
generation ihall they not enter into the congregation of
the Lord for ever." The reafon is affigned : " Becaole
they met you not v^rith bread and with water in the
way ; — and becaufe they had hired againft thee B**
laam the fon of Beor to curfe thee *.'*
. This law was an abfolute prohibition without ex-
ception of perfons, or limitation of time. The tenib
generaiion^ and^c^r every are interchangeable term89 as it
evident from the dilFolution of fuch marriages in the
days of Kelicmiah, more than looo years, that iSf 30
generations after the paflage over Jordan. This prince
is on that occalion pamed, not without a peculiar mark
of infamy. " Did not Solomon king of ICrael fin. by
tliefe things ? even him did outlandilh women caufe t)0
fin +."

R EH o BO AM, if his age be accurately defined, was
one year old at the death of David, who certainly would
not have approved this grofs violation of a divine &9n
tate, fo peremptorily forbidden. In his laft charge to
Solomon, the charatlcr is fet forth as pure without a
ftain. He is exhorted not to reform, but to perfevcrc.
But this one deviation from re£litude, had it heeQ

* Deut. xxiii, 3. 4. t Neb. xiii.»6.

knflwn.

j^om Da;Vid to Jesus Christ. %2^

known^ muft have Incurred reprehenfion, or at leaft been
marked) as an exception to that excellent cbara6ier»
which i» expiiefled without abatement, ^' Thou art a
wife main *."

: Presumed it may be that thi^ illicit connexion was
concealed from the aged fovereign. But that it was a
connexion of a fubfequent date, may reafonably be in-
ferred from the unreferved approbation of the divine
Being intimated to the, young prince, firft at Gibeon^
and repcaried ^after the dedication of the templet. The
refult of thefe pbfervations is, that Rehoboam was not
born in the lifetime of David, neither before the dedi*
cation of the teYnple ; and fo was not 41 years old at
the demife of Solomon* This pofition derives credi-
bility from circumftances recorded in his own hiftory,
*• Rehoboam having, rejefted the falutary advice of
the old men^ who flood before his father while he yet
lived, confulted with the young men, who were grown
up with him, and Aood before him ; and faid unto them.
What advice give ye? And the young men fpake unto
him, &c. \ *' Both the requifition and the anfwer fa-
voured more of juvenile precipitation than of mature
experience. All feem to have been under age, without
either the underftanding of men, or the limpHcity of
children. In that age of time men were not denomi-
nated youngs at or after 40.

AgaiH, Abijah his fon, as foon as feated on the
throne^ thus expoilulated with Jeroboam king of Ifrzfel,

• I Kings, lii. 9. \ \ Kings, iii. 5. and ix. i.

t I Kings, xU. 6— 10,

Q^ 2 and

a2S GENtALOCY

tnd hii fatSiofi. << Vain mcn^ the children of Bcbl
ftrengthened themfelves againft Rehoboam, when li^
being young and tender-hearted, coold not witUfauil
them **** If this apology infinuated inexpeffieiice of
t defed of intelledual vigour, it was improper, and
fcarcely confiilent with decomm and filial regarit
if literally to be underftood of pranature age^ tlit
cenfure was appofite and pointed* This Botatioa it
more decifive than the other, and both, fuperadded to
the former remarks, induce the opinion, that Reboi*
boam's age was not 41 at tlie death of his father.

Titm of SohmoiCs DeftSion.

Mis connexion with (Irange women, andthebirtk
of a fon by an Ammonitefs before the expiration of hli
19th year, are, if admitted, incontrovertible proofii df
early depravity. But this prefumption vaniflies^ whoft
it is confidered that the divine approbation, fubieqoetit
to the dream and vifion at Gibeon, jufliBes the iiifak
ence, that his heart was then pure from every habit of
Mccntioufnefs, and from the pride of life. *• Fiowapi
thoughts fcparate from God ; for into a* maKcions IM
WISDOM (hall not enter, neither dwell in a body 'On*
flaved unto fin. The holy fpirit of difcipline wffl fl^
from deceit, and remove from thoughts without tlndiSl^
Handing t.'* A fudden tranfition from the vigour of
good principles and habits, efpecially if they be the ac-
quifition of early life, to the loweft fink of

• a Chron. jiii, 6. ;• t WifJom of Solomon^ i. 3^5.

it

from Davijo h Jesus Christ. 209

i^ fearcf ly conceivable. This fublime model of human
e^elleoces like many inferior charaQers, degenerated^
by, i)p# imperceptible degrees^ into foHy and vice : and
this iiQporal familiarity with the Ammonitefs mighi
<)vive bfl^ ttie v«ry firft fiep towards apoftacy. At
whatev^Ume he aaived at the lad flage of bis fatal
career in wickednefs, the birth of Rehoboam cannot be
fiip{>^fed prior to thq dedication of the temple. Nci*
tber can its date be brought much lower. If Jie were
31 years old at his acceflioiit bis nativity will coincide
with the 9th of his father^s reign, the very year of the
dedication ; but this arrangement is at variance with
the gracious commuDiications and pr6mifes vouchfafed,
when the I^prd appeared to him the fecond time, a3 at
Cihfioa formerly *• On that occafion motives to fia*
bttity were o^forced, without the leaft reference to paft
i|iifcondu&. It muH however be granted, that no
time much later can, confidently with the fubfequent
furies of genealogy, be affigned for Rehoboam's birth.
If it be brought forward to the O+th of the father's
reign, when he had finiihed the temple and his own
palace ; the fon muft have fucceeded to the crown in
Imi i6tb year, which early age feems to accord with
tbofe accounts, already quoted, of his youth and tender-
iie& of heart. But the arguments on the oppofite fide
preponderate.

. I. Rehoboam muft have died in his 33d year: —
H coiidufion incongruous with the few years and nu-

^ • 1 Kings, ix. a— ^.

• . . QL 3 inerous

230 Genealogy

merous family of his fon Abijah. Afa too mull have
been born in the infancy of Abijah, and JehoQiaphat in
the infancy of Afa ; in like manner Jehoram in the
infancy of JchoCiaphat, and Ahaziah in the infancy of
Jehoram. Thefc natural reafons are infurmountable^
while thofe of the moral kind fubfift in their invariable
nature and full force ; for

2. The 24th of Solomon was that very year in which
he had finifhed the Lord's houfe and his own houfe.
The fame was the date of the fecond appearance, like
unto the firfl at Gibeon. In both, the teftimony of the
divine acceptance was abfolute ; in both tiie {lability of
the kingdom was the condition of flability in obedience.
No admonitions to reformation are implied, becatife no
inftanccs of paft provocation are exprefled. Yet cer-
tainly Solomon's connexion w!th the Amroonitefs^
(whether by wedlock or by concubinage, it matters not^
for both were ftriflly forbidden), was of a prior date.
Here is a horned argument, which puflies both ways^
and both ways with equal force.

Except the idea above fuggefted, of a gradually
flow progrcfs in degeneracy, no other expedient for
eluding the zvbole rcJuU of the objeftion occurs. As
apoftacy, no lefs than advances to perfeftion, has its
imperceptible iJages, fo the di^^nftion between immoral
aOs in an individual, and thofc which affeft the func-
tions ot a public charafter, feems not improper. David,
in his private capacity, derived an indelible ilain from*
his conduft towards a private family. This is the fole
exception to the glorious char?tfler given after his

death ;

from David /(? Jesus Christ. 231

death : " He did that which was right in the eyes of
the Lord, and turned not afide from any thing which
the Lord commanded him all the days of his life, fave
only in the matter of Uriah *." One honourable in-
gredient in his negal department is, an invariable at-
tachment to purity of worfliip, and uniform oppofition
to all idolatrous rites. In this view David was always
fet forth as the pattern of Solomon's imitation. " If
thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep ray ftatutes and
commandments, as thy father David did walk, &c. +'*
In the event of provocations in private conduft, per-
fonar<:haftifements were denounced; but (hould the
fovercign, or his children, turn afide and ferve other
gods, the kingdom was to be divided, and Ifrael to be
cut. oflF out of the land.

Admit that Solomon had begun his fatal intercourfe
with ftrange women about the time the temple was
finilhed, or even a little before, yet was he on the verge
of fenility before his many wives turned away his heart
after other gods \ : and his reign had nearly expired
before the prophet was fent to announce the divifion of
the kingdom, after his deceafe §. This meffage, with
a brief account of his feeking to kill Jeroboam, con-
cludes the hiflory of Solomon's life and reign.

In fome intermediate period mult Rehoboam have
been born, neither fo early as the exit of David, nor
long after the dedication of the temple ; for at his ac-

♦ X Kings, XV. 5. f I Kings, iii. 14. and ix, 4—10.

+ f Kings, xii. 4, § i Kings, xi. 31. 40.

Q^ 4 cefllon,

53* Genealogy

ceffion, fuch a number of years muft be allowed as may
be fufficient to regulate the enfuing genealogies by the
coorfe of nature. For this end 27 years are fully adequate.
On the higheil probability, therefore, may the nativity
of Rehoboam be put in connexion with the 33d year of
his father's life, the 13th of his reign, the iQth from
the foundation of the temple, and the yeiy yeaf after it
was dedicated *»

Every judicious reader, who accurately compare!
all circumfiances recorded in the facred hiftory con-
cerning this very mixed charader, will be convinced^
that the obfervatious bpth of Whifion ai^ his author«
are incapable of a full confirmation. For, i. Eikch
proceeds on the romantic hypothefis that Solomoa
reigned 80, and lived ^4 years. 2. That Hadad begaq

* This is a proper place for infcrting a ftrangc revcne of
Whifton in two notes on Jofephus. ♦« Since th« beginning of
Solomon's evil and wicked life, and adverfity, was at the time
when Hadad, or Ader, who was born at Icaft ao or 30 years
before Solomon came to the crown, in the days of Pavid, be-
gan to give him difturbancc j this implies that Solomop't evil
iiie began early and continued very long, which tll^ multhnde
of hi^ wives and concubines does plainly imply airo>: I fuppoljp
when he was not 50 years of age.— The youth of Jeroboam.
when Solomon built the walls of Jerufalem, |iot very long after
lie had finiftied his ao years in bnilding the temple^and his owij
palace, or not very long after the a4th of his reigln, and his
youth (lill here meniioned^ when Solomon's wickedoefs was
become intolerable, fully confirm. my former objervation, that
fjich his wickcdnefs began early, and continued very long."«*v*
Wjiifton's Jofephus, Ant, viii. 7. 6—8.

W

fr^nt David to Jesus Christ. t>33

to give faim diftufbance immediately after the death of

David ; mrhereas that diflurbance is exprefsjy referred to

Solomon's old age* 3* Jeroboam is charaflerifed as %

young man in a very late period of Solomon^s reign«

4. Long, after Solomon's two great buildings^ in the

94th year from the death of David, he (hone in the full

pofleilion of wifdom* f^ty, patriotifm, and renown*

In a former fbeet of this Analyfis, p. 68, 9re the aib*

thorities coUeded. 5. Neither Jofephus, nor his tran«

flator, dillinguiih as they ought, and as the facred hif-'

loriMi had very properly done before them, between

the idolatry and other immoralities of this prince*

6. Highly probable it is, that the meflage denounced by

the prophet, concerning the partition of the kingdom,

was the firfl proyidential circumftance which led Solo*

mon to repentance. 7. That he became a genuine

penitent is naturally inferred from his experimental

'' rdlexions on the vanity and vexation arifing from fen-

fuality and the pride of life :*--reflexions which would

Dot (o readily occur to 9 mind, inebriated with the

high-faOiioned elegancies of corporeal pleafure; neither

GOttld h^ without excefs in their ufe, defcribe them

with fudi psunful compunQion ; much lefs refolve the

chief good of man into obedience and the fear of God,

Thefe are not the fentiments of a voluptuary purfuing

Ih^ wild career of vicious indulgence. 8. Though

40 years be taken from his reign, yet ftrong are the

probabilities that he did not become licentious in the

fxtren^e, til) after he was 50 jears old. He died in the

beginning

d

234 GZKEALOCT

beginning of his 6oth year, fome time after Jeroboamf
removed into l^gypt, whence his reformation has been
dated. The general inference is, that bis defe£lion was
neither early, nor of long continuance.

Thus is refiified an egregious millake of namerica)
fignatnres, not by fimilar iiguies of different value, not
by parallel texts, not by various readings in original
copies, ancient verfions, quotations, rafh conje6lures,
&c. but by evidence much more decifive, the harmony
of hiftorical circum(lances» and the uniform procefs of
mture. Rchoboam, at the age of 27, might properly
be faid to have been not only the companion of younj^
men, but young and tender-hearted.

Harmet^s Criticijm.

This very ingenious author maintains the common
opinion, and hence derives inferences deftrudive of his
own fcheme. " It appears from the age of Rehoboam,
that Solomon was married before his coming to the
crown ; whereas this affinity with Pharaoh*s daughter
was made fome time after ; and from this fong [fHB
canticles] it appears, that he not only was'manried,
but had feveral wives of the higheft rank, as well ag
inany wIk) were called concubines, at the time of thofo
nuptials which this fong celebrates, ch. vi. 8.

*' Th e firft wife of every eailern prince is, and veas
wont to be confldered, as the principal, and whatever
addition was made to the number of their wives who
)2ad dowry, they ufually prcfervcd their prerogatives 2

yet

from David to Jesus Christ. 235

y^t it might not be impoflible to remove fuch a one
from her dignity */'

Facility of conjeflure may be attained with little
trouble, and employed to little purpofe. It is here
aflumed that Solomon was married, and his fuccelfor
born, before he came to the crown. No attempt is
tried to afcertain the age of the young monarch. Whe-
ther it were i4> i8> 20, or more or lefs, than any of
thefe numbers, the author regards not. It is enough to
affirm, that Solomon was married, and had a fon, before
his affinity with the princefs-royal of Egypt, All this
is^ furmife, not evidence. It is nowhere faid, that
Maacah, the • A^^^^^^^^^y '^^^ married to Solomon;
If (he were, the conneftion was, by the laws of the
kingdom, null and void. As (he was an alien, incapable
of rank and preeminence, (as a matron or queen in
Ifrael), by a particular aft of exclu{ion,'all her prero-
gatives could have no exidence biit' in the fertile fancy
of a poetical antiquary. By the fame licence of fiftioji
too, Rehoboam was born before his father was invefled
with royalty. This pofition feems to reft on the au-
thority of two texts, which, brought to the teft of found
criticifm, are found to exprefs erroneous numbers.'
The princefs of Egypt was it feems not the firft ot
principal wife of Solomon ; but though (he was not,
the other, to whom thefe prerogatives belonged, might
poffibly be removed from her dignity. It is not af-

* Outlines of a Commentary on Solomon's Song, dniwn by
Jfte aid of Inltrudions from the Eaft, p. 5 a, 5^.

fertedy

2^6 Genealogy

iereed, that Maacah, Kke VaQiti, was difEntfled widb tb«
formalities of a divorce. For the ingenious autbqir
proceeds:

«M AM fuppofing that (be [the firft and principal
queen of Solomon] was an Ifracliiefs,*' p. 65. Neither
is it affirmed^ that this Ifraelitefs was degraded to n&abe
uay for Pharoah*s daughter. No fuch thing. Mf«
Harmer rather thinks ^ that a prince, fo remarkaUe fbs
finding expedients> might reconcile jarring interefts by
an equal divifion of honours.''««*Here again is a fabley
but not cunningly devifed. The^ extfience of this I£»
faelitefs, and her adual efpoulals, alfo her prioiity of
time^ and preeminence in rank> ought to have been
afcertaioed. If the prince had the peciUiar addiefs to
balance with dexterity the etiquette of court honoun»
bis fkill feems to have fbrfaken him in this in(Uncc%
Jor from the furface of the poem it is obviousi that
jealoufy and envy are the prominent qualities of the
female interlocutors. Equality of honours was inconi^.
patible with the fupremacy of qne. Even the cajtair
^q>he does not reconcile ^izrm; intmfiu

The plan or conftruQion of the poem plainly ii|(ii»
matesy that Solpmon, by marrying a foreign prisceft.
of Ham's fwarthy family, bad given offence to the vir«
gin daughters of Zion. She, apprehenfive of clifcoiu
ragement from this circumflance, makes fuch af^fitiK
apologies, as might prevent unfavourable impreffioos.
^* I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerufalem^
Look not upon me becaufe I am black, becaufe the fun
hatb looked upon mc.'* Complexion is thus properly

refolvcd

fe(blv«d voin^ the iafluefioe of cUtiutc. Tbjit d«rkne&
of hue was no exception to Solomon's choicey wbofe
generous love overlooked the exterior diftinfiions o(
colour and form. This ftrangcr-queen cixprefles every
where conjugal afife&ion in its purcft ardotirsi and cooi^
|>laoency in its fublin^ft tran/jports. The daughters of
JeruGilenit though moved with jealoufy and envy, pF&»
ferye the decorum fuitable Ui connubiat fokfmnitiest ye(
obliquely infinuate hiats difrefpeAful to the priace:
^ What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O
thou faireft among wonoen \ What is thy beloved mof^
than another beloved, that thou doft fo charge \x%V*

Th J fundamentsd idea of the poem ieems to be^ thir
contempt and enmity of xhe Jews towards the Genttle%
when the latter were received into an equal participatiofi
of privileges with the former. Long before the days
of Solomon had this event been foretold in the oracles
of prophecy \ ^ I will move them to jealoufy with tho&
who are not a people ; I wilt provoke them to anger
with a fooiifii nation *.** This predifi:ion is fully veri*
fied in the four gofpels, and in the ads of the apollles*
The jealoufy and anger of the Jews impelled them to
all the wild extremes of perfecution ; for they confix
dered Chrift^ his apoftles, and the difciples of both, as
blafpbemers againft Mofes, againit the temple, and
«gainft God ; and all, as many of their own nation as
had become profelytes to the ChrilHan faith, they pro*
noimeed apoilates* Such feems to be primary fenti-

* Peut« xxxii. %t.

ment^

938 Genealogy

ment, and ultimate truth, adumbrated in this beautiful
allegory.

To the eftablifliment of this conclufion it is not ne-
ceffary with Mr. Harmer to fuppofe, that^Solomon had
efpoufed an irraelitefs before Pharaoh's daughter, a con-
jeflure which hiftory does not authorife. The ufage
of polygamy is foreign to the plan of the poem. Its
general fubjeft is not properly Solomon and Chrift in
their diftin^t perfonalities ; but the exifience of the
Jewifti church when ihe princefs of Egypt became their
queen, and alfo when Chrift came to extend mercy to
mankind at large. The particular fubjeft is the refent-
ment of the Jews on both thcfe occafions ; the one
being an image of the other *.

• " I would advife, that this produdUon be treated accord^
ing to the eftabliflied rules in this kind of allegory, fully and
cxprcfsly delivered in the facred writings, and that the author
be permitted to be his own interpreter. In this refpcdt the
errors of critics and divines have been as numerous as they
fcave been pernicious. Not to mention other abfurdities, they
have taken the allegory, not as denoting the univerlkl ftatc of
the church, but the fpiritual ftate of individuals, than which
nothing can be more inconfiftent with the very nature and
ground-work of the allegory itfclf, as well as with the general
pradice of the Hebrew poets on thefe occafions." Biihqp
Lowth's Lcfturea on S, Poetry, vol. ii. p. 331,

CHAP.

from David to j£sus Christ. 239

" I - ■ I '

C H A P. 11.

Second Series of XIV. Generations continuedr

3. ^Abtjah.

XJ IS age, when he aflumed the crown' and fceptre in
Judah, is not defined. It is therefore to be po-
ftulated according to phyfical probability. His father
died at the age of 44, as above ftated. The only
remaining circumftances on which computation muft
proceed are, that he reigned three years, and died th«
father of 22 fons and 16 daughters *. For this reafon
the earUeft period of Rehoboam's life, confident with
the age of procreation, is to be admitted as the probable
date of the fon's birth. In a few inftances, it has been
neceffary to allow but 16 years for the interval of fa-
mily defcencs, and this is one of the number. Thu$
Abijah's age at his acceflTion was 28, and at his deaths
31. The only forefeen objeftion to computation is the
number of his children at fo early a term of life. 1$ is
however obviated by a very feafonable remark of the

• a Chron, xiii. %f.

facred ,

d4o GemealogV

racied hiftorian. His 38 fons and daughters «t^e hy
14 mothers.

4. J/a.

Neither is his age, at the time of his inveftiture
vrlth royalty, expreflibd. The former rule muft agaia
be applied. At his father's deceale he feems to have
been a minor ; for it is recorded, ^* that he removed
Maacab his mother from being queen, becaufe (he had
made an idol in a grove *." From the.circumflance
of, bef making an idol in a grove, Selden .conje£lure.s
that fhe was a prieftefs of Aflieroth, the* Ailarte of the.
Phenicians, who had a magnificent temple at Hieiapolis
in Syria, the fame with'the Grecian Venus. That (he
might no longer jpatronife idolatry ^iirjt|dibi Ala, as
foon as he came of age^ diveiUd her of tht'NgOft^r*
after (he had held that dignity three years. By this com-
putation he was born in the i8th of bis: f ather - • lifcf
fuccecded him^'as- a mfnor when 13 yetrt-old^ and tt
the legal age of i^ commenced his perfbhal reign*
Jolbphus {ays, that this prince, by GodVbleflif]^ pb-^

^ A-Chrott. XV. 1 5. Concerning her name and mtunl rela*
tlon to ASa, difFereat accounts are given. Maacah is the aame
of *Ab:jah's mother, t Kings, xv. %, where ihe is likewiie tdi
to have been a daughter of Abinialom. Jofeplmt agrees in
both thefe defignations, and adds, that ihe was a gmd*
daughter of Abfalom by Tam.'ir. She vaaa& tbere£are ibe grand-
daughter of Abfalom, and grandmother of Afii. Ajcoordios
to the Hebrew phraieology, even remote deicendants are verf
vfually called foas and daughters. See Dr. Wall oil the text
laft <4|aoted|l and Jofephus, Aot. viii. jo. it

tained

from Davio /« j£9U4 CHRIST. 241

tained a longMdfaap^ life^ ai the tt^mA^ his piety
and 'righteourpefs*.' The Bible extols lus VEomf wbA-
eminent virttres ; but fays nptbing of his long life.
From the account above given of Abijah*s fliort life
and i^gn» it is certain that Afa^s age dotdd not exceed
54* * Jo&phus, when not direfied by noCitiobs of time
in the fiicred Annalsyufoally amplifies numbers i".

5. yeho/haphat.

At the age 6f 35 he began his reign of 45 years^
and confequcntly was born in the Z9cfa of Us father
A&'slife|. ,

6. Jehoranu

S^ H£ wa$.32 yaan old when he begaft fo reign, atii
r^gned eight years in Jerisfalem $/* By this notatios

* JVnt«Tiit. 11.6^

f This author agrees in every Tsnatioti coneeridng Msacahc
With refpedt tb the fpedfications already mentioned--48 the
^fe of Rehobesun, this mother of Abijah and A£i» the daogh*
ter of AbCalool. In Jpfepliu8,Ant« viii. xx« 4. Micaiah Is the
name of Afa's mother : and in % Chr<^]uii. t. Ab^ah's mother
ij^ iTo expreifedt with this addition^ << that (he was a daught^
of Uriel 6f Gibeah.'' Thcfe rariatidns inler no uncertainty.
'Ate^diffi^reMie of the name does not ifeceflar9y tntf^ly a diver-*
fity df pdrfonsk Much ^r^t^r VariatSons in orthdgimphy are
cpofiAent wijth the uiage of ^iveffe dialeds. . Uriel was mbft
^prpbably the huiband of Abialom's daughter (Tamar), who£b
dajaghter' Maaoah, or Mtcaiah, was the mother of Abijah, and
the graddmother of Ala^ in whole minority (he was quedi
regenty and depofisd when he came of age.

X % Chron. xxx, 31. § a Chron. xxi. 5.

^y R hi*

141 G E K 1 A LOi^ t .

bis age at death did not exceed 40. Hence reTuK (e^i
veral difficulties in computation, not to be obyiatt^
other wife, than by taking the chronological chan^r*-
of thb reiga, in connection with thofe of tbt enfuing*- :
^ J EH OR AM had fevenJ Tons (their number not fpe-
cified) ; and a band of Arabians, Ethiopians, and Phin
li&ines, came up againft Judab, and cairied .away all!
the fubflance found in the king's houfe, and his fons
alfo, and his wives, fo that never a fon vras left hinif
f?ve Jehoahaz, [Ahaziah], the youogeft of hit fbnsrV-
him the inhabitants of Jerufalem made king in ins (fa-.
ther*s) ilead; for the band of men, that came up witb
the Arabians to the camp, had flain all the reft. Forty
and two years old was Ahaziah when he begui to
itign. He retgned eight years in Jerufalem, and Ms
tiiother*s name, was Atfaalia, the daughter {of Ahab' mi
grand-daughter] of Omri *.'* The notation for Aha-
siah's age, 42, is happily corre^ed into 22 f. ..Dr.
Wall in his note on the place, not without. ifiaGMai,
pronounces this larger number one of the moft palpabto
miflakes^ .and wrong readings in the Hebrew text of
ehis book (2 Chronicles). " Few,** he fayl, «• of thfe
hti are corre6led in the Greek verfion, but cbia i$^1
Kennicott aiEgns the moft probable ioorce of tho wi£^
take. For ^q 429 33 22,. had inadverteht]]? bam
fubftituted* Thia fets the matter right atohce* ;' -TtSt
true number he c^ferves is read'ftniverfany.in^ the
iranflations, as well as in the origlnaL.of Kingst; Jn tb:

■'■• ■ M

* % Chron. ixi. 6. a«|i ch. xxiu 3. f 1 Kiogs, viiL z6^

Syriac

frciu David /» Jistrs Christ. ijj.3

Syriac land Ar^c vbrGons of the Chronicles^ alid id
the valuable printed edition of the Septuagint by Aldus^
ill 1 5 1 8; He might have added thfe eiTcelletit imprtdfion
at Frankfurt, fol. 1697.

That fingular criterion, which gives a fon the rank
of fqniority to a father ; — a feniority of two years, and
f^cbi-ded in an ancletit hiftory J — has every reafon to
be confidered as a writ of error, and the title tbenc6
accruing as a counterfeit. The fcribes, from ignorance;
tnake a falfe report. The hiftorian*s notations accord
with nature. For ^ father, dying at 40, might leave i
fon 22 years old. This youngeft fon, however, had
elder brothers ; ^j to the Convidibn of all impartial
judges^ it may be certified that the agfe of Jehorani
was 32^ when he began his joint reign, and 36 at his
father's death. His age was cbnfequently 44^ Ahaziati
being borii in his 27jA year, and his elder ibns, by feveral
. mothers, between i the 16th and aad. As in genealogy
the ArchbiQiop's knowledge is fuperficial^ fo his decifions
are incongruous often with his premifes* " Yet eveifi hcT
faw the propriety of admitting; that the -jod of Jeho-
ram's age ought to be reckoned from bis advsuicenient
to the throne in his father's life-time. *

This Ahaziaht having x^gned one. year together
with his fiither, which as complete makes' the 8th and
laft of his adminillratioa ; ahd one full year more after
his deceafej was, in the 24th of his .own life^ cut off by
. thefword of Jehu. As th6 feventh in fucceffion from
: David exclnfively, be ought, on the authority of the
royal calendar in judah, to be included in this leries.

R a iun

144 Cekealoct

But he ii omitted in the lift of Chrift's anceflors hf
the evangelift Matthew ; and as not now extant in this
dhrifioin, ht in here in like manner left out, though, for
leafons to be mentioned, it may be requifite to teplace
him with others ; both to (ill np the triple fertest and
to reconcile the Old and New Teftament regifiers.

His mother Athalia, having flain all the feed roytfl,
in Judah, except the infant Joafh, invaded the throlic^
and felU after an ufurpation of fix years, a vi&itn to
the refentments of the princes and people of the iand^
and to the juftice of an avenging Providence.

\ -. ' •

7. yfhcajhy oxjoajh.

On the exprefs authority of dotations int^hc facned
records, has his claim to the throne been ovinced^^ -Were
his liiieage, as an imthediate ion of Ahaziahi lefstM^
tain, the d^fcetit of Jdfus Chrift frotn David would te
more doubtf lib But the dired evidences of this bd,
produced in the foregoing pages, (hew, that idle eanjrc-
tures and chimerida} notions merit no regard; This
infaht, (fetbued from his unnatural grandmother by the
humanity (tf his ^ Other's fifter Jeholbeba, the vrib. of
Jehoiadah the high prieft, who, in virtue of his office,
prefided with fupreme authority ovec the tempie^ vAere
the young prince with his nurfe had been GOt)cealai:fix
years}^ wks thence condii&ed to the throiie, at dieiage
of feven full years. He reigned 40, and confecplenlly
died at the age of 47. Ufher, tnifled by hii erroneoas
tdrabination of original tiumbers^ mutilates thii'reign
by reducing it to 39.

8. AfM%iah.

frmn David to Jesus Christ. 045

'8. Amaziah.

At the age oC 25 he began bis reiga of 29 yearst
and died at the age of 54 *•

9. Arasuah^ Azariah\^ or Uzziah,

*< All the people of the land took Azariah^ who
was 16 years old, and made him king in the fiead of
Amaziah his father V The parallel texts ,agreeiiig^
like two living witnefles, in the article of time, fuper-
fede farther evidence* Yet notations appaitptly dif-
cordant create he&tation, whether Aeariah were 16
years old at the deceafe of his father, or at foroe fubfe-
quent period ^ That text which conae3s the firft of
Uzziah's reign with the i6fh of his [i^ refers both to
the 27th of Jeroboam 11^ king of Ifrael. This middle
term in reckoning is appofite and decifivie.

<< In the '38th year -of Aeariah king of Jud^ did
^achartah the fon of Jeroboam reign in Samaria fix
months p Thefe fix months ended in the 39th of the
fame reign. A* M. 3237* Hence fubt^d 39, the
remainder 3198 denotes the laft year of Amaeiah, and
the 14th of Jeroboam. But the 27th of JeroiK>ani wac
the i6th of Araziah. His government therefore bad a
"double commencement ^ — a minority of X2 years begun
ifa the r5th of Jeroboam ;— and a perfonal reiga in the

• dChron. XXV. i.

f % KingSyxiv. %u and t Chron. xxvi. |««j.

I % Kiogsy XV. S. ^

R3 27th

346 Genealogy

27th of the fame reign. The 38th, 39tb, 50th, andj
5 2d, are all computed from the death of Amaziah, as if
no miqority k^d taken place. In the fame manner i c(
years of anarchy in Samaria, from the death of Jero*:-
boam II. to the death of Zacharjab, are in like manner
omitted. By two notations however are they retained,
or rather reftored ; — Amaziah lived 1 5 years after the
death of Joafli king of Ifrael f ; and Uzziah was i6yeiar>
pld when he began his perfo^ial adminiftration

10. yotham.

One rule for computing the lives and reign9 of
kings has been premifed, ^hd oft<en exempli^ed* In a
conjun£l reign the age of the junior monarch is cpiiiy^
puted from the partnerfhip in authority, but his fold
reign from the demife of bi« predecelfor, or it includei;
the laft incomplete year of the former. '

UiZizjAH, it is well kiiOwn, bad been fmitteo by the
hand of Heaven with an incUrable leprofy ; unto tbc
day of his death he dwelt in a (everal houfe, fecludHl
from foci^' ; and Jotham his fon vswi oyer the
king's houfe, judging the people of the land t. Tbcf^
drcumilances indicate continuance of tim^. Th^ fpacd
of the regi^cy is not defined, but . a term . agre^abje ip
the courfeof nature may be a0umed. Suppofe therey
fore Jotbam began his vicarious re^g^ at the age of ^^
he was therefore born in the 25th of his father's Iife»

• t Kings, xiy. 17. This character of time is, on account of
its importance, repeated z Chron. xxv. aj.
t a Chron. xxvi, ai.

an^

/fvm David /^ Jesus Christ. 147

and hegm his own fole reign at the age of 31 ; ^^A 16
for his reign, iie died at the age of 47. No remon*
ftrance occurs^ and from nature, chronology, or hifioiy^
-l^mergent 4ifEcukies in genealogy are anticipaU^d*

II. Ahaz.

• Hrs age whpn he began to reign, ts in two parallel
lexts {aid to have been ao *• His father, as the ntim*
fcers have been tranfmitted, xeigned 16 and lived 36
)war«« Ahaz was, by this reckoning, bom in the i6th
of Jotham. This arrangement, appofite and conciliatory
as it may appear, is inadequate ; for the very next ftep
in cpniputatioQ infera a contradidioHf ' ^

12. Heziliahf

. At his acceffion he was 2$ years x>ld t. But as his
father's life axxl reign did not exceed 36 :{:, the fon was
bom wbenthe father's age was but li« Whifton pro-
nounces this notation one of the greatefl difficulties in
all the Bible. On the authority of Treraellius, Uiher
has recourfe ^o a retrograde computation, (bis iifual ex«
pedient for (olving etnergent perplexkies), by fiippofiag
die iacred hiilorian meant, that Ahaz was 20 years old^
not when^he himfeif, but when his father Jotham began
to reign. If fo, Ahaz was born in the 5 th year of
Jotham*s age; or by the corredHion above propofed, in
4he nth. Both thefe critics are extremely unfortunate.

* % Kings, xvi. s. and % Cbroo. xxviii. i.

t a Cbrw* xxix. s» t * Chtqn. n^xv^ii. i.

1^4 They

jt+B Gekealogy.

Tbey folve one contradi£lion, by recommeiiding to thw
reide]> the belief of an equal, or greater abfurdity*
|Cennicott» in all his three voiuminous dtflertations»
overlooks this cliiQier of incongruous numbers. Wall*
in his note on 2 Chron. xxviii. i. remarks, that the
Complutenfian, Aldine, Alexandrine, Gr. and Vulg. Lat.
Pentateuch, agree with the Heb. here and in a Ki^gs,
xvi, va. and that the Vat.. Greek copy in the former
text, reads 25 for the age of Ahaz* Whiflon approves
the emendation, and confirms ' it by the authority of
the Armenian, and othei: verGons« He might have
added the two valuable printed editions of the Scptua-
gint, that by Field in 1653, ^^ ^^- ^Y WecheUpa
in 1697.

Usher, inconfiflently with his own pofiulate, admits
that Jotham was 25 years old, when his adminiftralioii
at the time of his father's leprofy began, and that he
reigned 16 without a colleague. As above noted be
died at the age of 47. Subtrafl 25 for the age of
Ahaz, at the demife of Jotham, according to the moft
corre^ editions of the Septuagint, the furplus 22 is the
age of Jotham at the birth of Ahaz : and 254-i6:?;;4l :
the refult indicates the lad of Ahaz; then4i--«>a53:i^9
denotes the age of Aba% at the birth oC Ueaekiab.
Thus is furmounted every fen^blance of variation, i;i
hiftorical and chronali?gi^al ,chara£lers, from the cQurfe
pf natqre. This ^arly inflance of procreation it ba^
in one other cafe, that of Rehoboam, been necelTaxy to
admit. Such examples, though not without precedents,
are rare ; but ought not to be rejefled under the notion of

7 phyfica}

. from David /^ Jesus Christ, -1^49

phyikal itnprobabtlities. Here we (hould have had, two
in fucceflion, and, what mull be reprobated as impoflible
without a miracle, a fon born in the nth of bis father's
life. A mmote fcmtiny into the tifnal phrafeology of
the facred writers, the variation^ in parallel texts of the
original, the difcordant notations inantient vefrfions, and
contextual analogy to nature, have rcftored confiftency
with truth in many cafes where palpable abfurdity was
otherwife unavoidable. < Without the lead apprebenfibn
of hurting verifimilitude, the worthy Metropolitan
tnentions an hypo^fis which makes' Aha« bom in the
5th or iithof Jotiian»;-*-and Heziekiah in the nth of
Abaz. Yet fo little attentive was he to confequencest
that he abridges by one year the life and reign of the
father, and conftruds a pile of abfurditie^. Ptideaux,
mified by his example, copied this lail miftake, and
afterward found it necefTary to compenfate a deficient
year by adding unity to the (hort reign of Amoo.

13. Manajfehy

At the age of i2» i^fcended the throne. Two in*
ferences are obvious: i> He was born in the 42d year
of his* father's life, which was the 17th of his reign.
% He was a minor, confeguently a regent governed by
reprefentation four'years. This long reign of 55 years ^
contributes both to the eafe and certainty of compu«-
tation : for except in one other inftance* that of XJze
yiahy the reckonipg by generations from David to

• f Chroiu xxxiiL z.

2^edekiah,

250 Genealogy

Zedekiah, hath been fo circumrcribed, both in the af^
cending and defcending feries, that ic is extremely dif-«
ficult * to fix that one critical point in natural timcb
where probability is adtniffibley- or contradi£lion fuf*

pefied, and unavoidable.

i
14. Amoiif

On the authority of two parallel texts^ he beg;m to
reign at the age of aa, and died at 94*. That a
firange fluduation of opinion concerning this mga
and life, among the ancient chronologers, did prevail^ it
evident from their jarring fentiments, as let fbith bjf
the Metrc^Iitan in his Chionologii Sacra, p« 83;
With a needlefs expence of inveftigation and aigu^
menty he combats the hypothefis of Eufebius, who a&
(igns, on the report of the 70 interpreters, la yean to
the reign of Amon, and approves the cenfure of Syii«*
cellus,- who gives Eufebius the lie as to the duration of
this reign. It is not a little extraordinary that both
thefe fathers acknowledge the Hebrew number to be
two, and alfo the Septuagint number to be la : whereat
all agree with the Hebrew, without the Icaft veftige of
a various reading in either of the parallel notations.

He continues his firi£lures on other writers with re-
fpe6l to different views of the fame fubjeft. Sulpicius
Severus, in the firft book of his facred hiftory, affirms^
that Amon's reign did not exceed two years ; but that
Jofiah his fon reigned no more thari ai ; for he diedin

• % Kings, xxl. 19. and % Chron. xxxiii. sx.

th^

from David to Jesus Christ. ^51

0ie third year after the celebration of the memorable
padbver in his i8th year. This altercation difcovers
grofs ignorance in Eufebius, Syncellus, Severus, and
Archbilhop Uflier. They perceived incoheiience forne*
Where, but could not d^fcry its fource : they forefaw,
that if 10 years were added to the reign of the fatbe%
as many mull be retrenched from that of the fon. They
perhaps fufpe^ed, on the hypotheGs of Amon having
reigned but two years, that Jofiah at the age of la
begat the firft of his four fons. To the truth of this
fa3 they were unwilling to give thei^ fanflion : to
contradi£l it they had not courage, being perfuaded
that God, as oft as it might be Jiis pleafure, could work
miracles; pioufly referring the time and occafion of

r

^ttch interpofition, to Infinite Wifdom* r

In (hort, from Eufebius bifliop of Cefarea, in the
fourth, to Ufher archbifliop of Armagh, in the fevenw
teenth century of the Chriffian era, all the intermediate
InAorians, critics, and chronologers, (if anyfuch did
jncift], faw confufion and perplexity in -the notatioiulbr
itfaefe two kings [Anidn and Jofiah] ;-«^all feem tahave
'fmtertained the fentiment, that every (cribe-pofrefiTed
the faculty of plenary infpiratton no le(s than MoGm^
-Eera, &c.<^and all expre($ their opinion tliat a mifl^ke
has been committed in the-years» which define. the
lehgtb of their reigns. Without the leail tin£lurevOf
acrimony may it be^remarked, that a very moderate
•degree of penetration would have fufficed to evince^
whether the years of the two kings at the time of their
inveftiture with royalty,- were enotieou$ \ and if rea-

foos

S51 G£N£ALOGY

Ions for the affirmative propofition (hould feem the
more probable* cafy it was to bring this fubje6l to its
oltimate tefi,-*coMPUTATiON*

From the point in debate obviout it is* that ten
years more, than the length of Amon's reign, apd tea
years leis, than the quantity afcribed to Jofiab* would
remove certain perplexities in the chronology* gene-
alogy, and biftory of the period now under exa^r
mination.

Be it recolleSed* that Manafleh reigned 55* and
lived 67 years. At firft view it infers no abfurdity to
fuppofe, that Amon's age, at the deceaie pf Manafleh*
might poflibly have been 42. Then 67 — 42=25 :
this furplus was, by the fuppofition, the age pf the fyir
ther at the nativity of the fon : — ^a,conclufioa in per-
fe6l harmony with the courfe of nature, both in the
fttrograde and progreffive feries. It may be enquired*
whether this poGtioa derives confirmation from the
fimilar figure of ancient numerical charafl^? Aor
fwer i The chara3ers are the fame with thofe already
produced to demonfirate, that Ahaziab king of Judah
wtu not, and could not poSibly, be two years older than
.his father, Jehoram* The charaQers 30 4^9 ha4 pr&-
|K>fterouily been- interchanged for ^^ 22;. and heie
33 90, for 30 42. Thus is taken put of .thci my
cfvery obftacle which can produce variance betwtoi ihP
truth of nature, and the truth of hiftory* in j^ reign
ef Amon. The fufpicion of error in fh? iwQ texts,
which define the reign and age of this prinot* hai fjudrd
the acumen of all the critics fiom Eufehius. down to

Scaliger,

fram David to Jesus- Christ. 253

Sca)iger» Petau, Ulher, Prideaux, Bedford^ Jackfon^
Kennedy, Kennicott, Wall, Whifton, the Authon of
the Ancient Univerfal Uifiory, &c«

Certain objeflions, too momentotxs to be over-
looked, relative to the form, number, and order c^ this
feries, remain for examination.

Ohje6i. I. Three Namely which /^^ EVANGELIST ex-
cludes^ are here Interpolated.

T£[ESE names are Ahaziah, Jehoafh, and Amaziab.
What reafons can be afiigned for an omiilion, which
fets at variance the records of the two Teflamepts ?
Yardley and Trapp, not to mention others, reply in ge-
neral by (imilar qiwries ; Why are two of Judah^s de-
fcendants omitted in the firft book of the Chronicles ?
Why did Ezra \tvit out feven of his progenitors ?
Anfwer : Neither of thefe authors propofed a full lift
of thofe families, much lefs a divifion into clafles equal
in numbers. They add, that Matthew in particular
^ttiade no fcrupJe of leavihg out feme perfons Well
^tiough ktiown, though fnconfiderabte in themfcilves ;
as other hiftorians do when they give a fummary ac-
count of things : — that thefe three, as well as any others
might have been pafled over ; — that Jehoram married
Athaliah the daughter of Aliab, againft whofe boufe a
particular curfe had been denounced ; — diat the three
fa^re otnitted were of that wicked boufe ; — and, that all
tbi^, came to violent deaths.

. Allqw thefe arguments their full force, they might
juftly tie extended to the exclufioa of many moce.:-r-

of

256 Genealqgt

...... . .

' . .

•

' '.♦ f

•

% ... J

■ »

CHAP.

IV.

Third Series of XIV. Ornerations.

I. Jofiah.

w

THOSE texts which define his age when his reign
began, exprefs eight years, and limit his govern-
ment to 31 *- He, by this reckoning, died at the a^'
of 39. This ultimate term of life muft be confidered
together with the hiftory of his family.

" The fbns of Jofiah were, Johanan the firll boro«
the fecond Jehoiakitn, (Eliakim); the third Zedekiah,
(Mattaniali) ; the fourth Shallum, (Jchoahaz t).**
With that preciCon whence the facred writert nevcf

deviate, the rank of thefe fons in feniority is afcertained^

• ■ • ••

Such minute diftindlions are here neceffary to prevent
confulion arifing from a variety of names. Not wjth-
out fpecial fignificance is it recorded, that " the people
of the land took Jchoahaz, the youngeji Jon of Jofiah^
and made him king in Jerufalem : his age was 23, and
his reign three months if." From the age of the father

* a Kings, xxii. i. and a Chron. xxxiv. x.

\ I Chron. iii. 15. t * Chron. xxxvi. x, a.

39^

from JotlAH to ^ktATtfttu 2^7

39, take thnt of the (on a6, the /urplus i6j fe the ctrr-
rent yttit 6f Jofiah at the birth of Jehoahae. This afge
of procreation, in the cafe of a fir ft born, is unexcep-
tiotiaf>)e ; bttt dtherwife fcarcely confiftcnt with phyficsll
pfbbabilily.

Is if poffibfe to difcover the father's age at the rtaf!-
vity of his firft three fons ? The fduf had two mofherf.
Jehoiakim, (aifd probably JohananJ, was born of Ze- *
budah ; — Zeddciah and Jehoahaz of Hamiital. Certain
it is, that all were not childreil of the fame year. For
Jehoiakim the fecond fucceeded, on the removal of Je*
hoahaz, at the age of 25$ and was therefore born in*
the 14th of Jofiah*s life. This fa£i is without example
in the Bible hifior/ of 4^ generations^ and being be-
yond the Ifnedf cxfperienc©, may property be transferred
t0 the chapter of paradoxes/ The fame mother hady at
(eparate births, Johanan and Jehoiakim. The elder was
confequerttly born in the 13th or perhaps the I2th of
their father's age. Here is a ttain of improbabItIties»
which diftin£lly, but much more in a fiate of compor-
fition, fet even creduKty at defiance. Zedekiah Was
the third in order, and coniequently 24 yeafs old at the
death of his father, for he was the elder fon by Hatnu-
tal, Jehoahaz the yotmger, and therefore they were not
twins. Zedekiah's age at the death of Jehoiakim, 1 1
years afifer Jofiarh, muft have been 35. But in three
texts ♦ it is erroneoully marked 21 •

* a Kin^s, xxir. i8. and t Chronvxxxvi. n. Jer. lii. j.

S ALIi

3j8 Genealogy

All thefe abfurdities in computation render it cre-
dible, that JoGah fucceeded his father at a more ad*
vanced ftage of life than eight years. By the neceflary
emendation above propofed> Amon died at the . age of
44. The birth of Jofiah may be referred to any y^ar
not repugnant to the courfe of nature. Be it then
fuppofed at a venture, that the facred hillorians in the
two texts abovementioned wrote i8, not 8. In ttie
Hebrew alphabet n denotes 8, ♦ lo, and fl* i8. The
fmall, and fometimes fcarcely perceptible chara£ler, t,
might eafily have been overlooked, and with it the
number lo was loft, to the great detriment not only of
textual coherence, but of phyfical pofTibility,

By this highly probable conjedure every difficulty
vanifhes. In matters of fingular intricacy even bold
conje£lures are juftifiable ; but in framing conclufionsi
judgment muft proceed with caution and coolnefs«
Precipitance is the bane of criticifm. One enquiry iUll
remains. Does this conje£lure derive confirmation
from the poffible or actual interchange, omiffion, or
tranfpofition, of the fame numerical lignatures, in other
inftances? Suppofable it is, that the like fourc^ of
perplexity may occur in various pafTages, where the
fame combination of alphabetical numbers is repeateds
ivith the fame, deviations from the truth of computation.
Happily one appofite example is obvious and decifive*
The fame pair of letters, intcJnded to exprefs the fame^
age, in a diftin£t perfonage, is exhibited with the fame
omiffion of ♦ lo. " Jehoiachin was (pj) eight ye^rs
old when he began to reign, and he reigned thrte years

and

from JdstAkUSAlAikiEU 71^

ahd icA (lays in Jtmhlem^.'* In the Aldiii^ ^d
Aiexandtine editionS'of - the Septuagint, ^s- alfor ip the)
Hdyrcfw textahd Grai verfidii of 2 KingSj cbr xxiv* 8#'
tiite original dotation f^y l8> has happily been pre^r
iterved. In this^ lattef context, a circumftance al^^
together • incompaCible- with the number etgtt is rc*^
corded : ^ The kiiig 6{ Babylon took and carried
away Jehoiachinr' and theking*s wives. *V A youth^
ofaS it may be)prerumed had wives; but this couldr
not^ be a!K>hi^d of a <ihiI4 whofe age did not exceed^
eightye^. ' . . :

No probable reafon forbids theufe<>f this aritbttie^.
metical experimehtV in afdbt^aitiing the recil age of Jo-
fiahat the time of his accefiibn. It is perfedly^on-*'
fifientWith the/ iiepeated;^ evidences of his' early: pife^j
The recorded fpecifieations denote rather a gradual andE
eontinued progrefs in goodfiefs, than a premature eiir
ffance on a i^ligious courfe. For inftance^ ** In thcr
eighth year of his rleign,'* that is, the 26th of his lifc^
" while he was yti- youhg^ be began to feek aftpr thcf
God of David, his fatter : and in the 12th year/' that
is, the 30th of his life, ** he begun to purge Judah and
Jerufaleni from the high places, groves, imag^s/\&c«^
Th^Bi^brew pbr^feology denominates, men j)!0K»^ at 30*.
Again, •• In the 18th of his reign," that is, the 36th o£
his life, '^^ he ifTued a commiffion for repairing the tem-
ple, foA^tddifed a magnificent paiTover, and introduced a
general reformation, not only in Judah, but alfo in
Samaria t.''

• a Chrott. xxxvi, 9. + > Chiron xxxir. f— Jji

S a IH

a6a O^ M £ A LO CY

Ih the very bell difpofition89 the feeds and fympComt
of fupeieminent excellence may begb to unfold them*
(elves at the age of eig^t years. But fchemes of public
ufefulnefs, projefled with a felicity of defign, and exe-
cuted with perfevering vigour, require a maturity of
finnilties ; and when young princes of fuch a channficr
are providentially raifed up on a confj^cuoos theatre^
for the benefit o( the human kind; then the counlebf
influence^ and authority of wile and good men» in the
liibordinate fundions of magiftracy, are commonly em-
ployed to call forth into exertion the latent virtues of a
young fovereign«

Thus Joafli, king of Judab^ from the tender age of
feven years, did that which was good in the fight of
the Lord all his days, wherein Jehoiadahy tj^ U^ ptid^
inflruQed him *•

In like manner young Jbfiah was happily fnfim&ed
in the principles of wifdomyand the meafures. of gp^
government, under the pious tuition of Hilkiak. ib^
high priefl, and other upright counfellors, in tk Mfsxy
degenerate age +• His heart having m ^ght bias hom
die ftate of infancy, his virtue acquired ftrengib firoooi
good culture, and in advanced life he difcharged with
eminent honour all the fun£lions of a patriot kiog^ witb
the well-dire£):ed zeal of an exemplary reformer* •

By a minute difquifition into various notptioitfi 4I
time, from Solomon to Jofiah^ many ic^rtant ctneii-

^ ft Kings> xii. %. and ft Chron. xxiv. 2.
t d Kings, xxii, a-^^o.

dationa

jf^m JasxAH /# Salathiex.. a6t

cbtidns of nuBsBerSy which embarrafs domputatioOf have
Bot only been fugge&ed> but reconciled widi truth and
imture. It is humbly prefumcd, that nothipg remains
tQ fhock belief^ nothing to viplate probability. EviMy
decifion Is admiffibley coherent^ perfpicuous. Chrppo^
logy han^onifes with hifiory, and )x>tl) with the regular
prpi^eb of natufe, during the lap& of 15 gen^exaltioiiBj
-r« period of tioie wbi<:h has hitherto derived very Uttl^
elucidation from prijticifmr

2. yehoiakim*

*< Jo SI A3 begat Jeconias and hi$ brethren, about tli«
tini6 they were carried away to Babylon* And after
they were carried aw:ay to Babylon, Jeconias begat Sa*
lathid*/*&c.

Dr, Trapp very properly obferves, ** The two names
Jebojakim and Jehoiachin being fo like, the
fame Greek word ferves for both. The former was
the fon of Jofiah, and he Is meant verfe nth. The
ktter was the fon of Jehoiakim, and he is metot verfe
13th •+."

Nothing can be more conformable to hiftory than
this remark of that eminent critic. It is confirmed by
the uniform report of all the Old Teilament regiflers,
and by very clear diftin&ions in the phrafeology of this
Evangelift; forinftance,

• JMiatthew, i. ij, 1%.

j- Trapp's Explanatory Notes on Matthew,!, xa*

S3 !• J0SIA8

ids • Gen £ alo g y

I. JosiAS begat Jeconias and bis bpethreh. The
brethren of the former Jeconias have been alrealdye
mentioned, Johanan, Jehoahaz, and Z«dekiah, who
were likewife the fons of Jofiah. Of the (econd Jo*
coniaS) the name of no brother is recorded.
- a* The times, as diftinfl, are properly diverfified^
The elder Jeconias was born about th€ iime thty y^t^
carried away to Babylon ; the youngery iifter- ib^ were
brought to Babylon, begat Salathiel*. - ...

3. That Jehoiakim the fon, as alfo Jeconiah dicr
grandfon of Jofiah, were both born before the firft de*
portatio;! to Babylon, is evident from indubitable no-
tations already {pecified : — ^the forrber in the 24th, the
latter in. the 42d of Jofi^h's life, as,above computed^
This circumfiance (ufficiently evinces the duvcrfity ojT
perfons, and prevents cpnfi^fion frpm the identity, of
names*

4. Different dates are, without the leaft'^eoi;
blance of ambiguity, afligned for the removal to Baby-
lon ; — one in the fourth of Jehoiakim's reign j-^-a kr
cond in the firft, a third in the 1 1 th, of Zedeki^.

5. Who were the perfons of whom the Eyangdift
affirms, they wcxc carried, and they were brought^ Uf

' • TEirJ tSTc ftfTo:iti:c^:tf , fome time Before. The Lexicograpliert
remark, that f«c, implying time, and as here put in conftruc-
tion, denotes -priority of time, like the Latin j^ in the ikme
figniBcation, ^sfub noSem, about even tide; at the approach of
night. On the other hand* /(«it«, in this notion, unequiTOcally
cxprefles time fuh/equent, as ftsrrf H Tut >(iT#M«rl«v, hu$ toflerthe
migration*

B^yloni

/ramJosiAH h Salathiel. ^63

Babylon ? Anfwer : The words iefbre and afury cha-
rafierife no particular perfons* Neither nomftiative nor
verb is exprefled in the original text. From our En*
glifli verfion, an EngliQi reader would naturally fufpfeft,
that the elder Jeconias and his brethren are impliedly
But this Jeconias, (Jehoiafcim), was not carried to
Babylon. In the nth of his reign indeed, *« Nebu-
chadnezzar came up againfi him, and bound him ia
fetters to carry him to Babylon *• But he was never
tranfported thither. Jeremiah had foretold +, " that
he (hould be buried with the burial of an afs, drawn
and caft forth beyond the gates of Jerufalem." Jofe-
pbus hifiorically records the circumilantial completion
of this prophecy : ^* Nebuchadnezzar commanded king
Jdioiakim to be thrown down before the walls of the
city, without any burial !" That this was done in the
lith of his reign, and no fooner, the author exprefsly
affirms. " His fon Jehoiachin, was made king of the
land, and of the city. He reigned three months and
ten days J." This fhort term of fovereignty is tak^n
in to complete the laft of his father's difaflrous reign :
for he too was taken, and aftually removed to Baby-
lon, when that year was expired §.

Neither were all the brethren of the fenior Je-
conias tranfported to Babylon. Of Johanan nothing
' is recorded but that he was the firft born of Jofiah's four
fons. It may be conjedured, either that he was flain

* % Chron. xxxvi. 6. t Chap. xxii. 19.

X Ant. X. 6. 3. 5 * Chron. xxxvi. xo.

S 4 with

$64 Gensalogy-

\vitb bi& faher in the tragical baUle of^ Megi^cbi qT
sy.a^ prevented by a natural death. Certain it is tkit
the youngefl, Jehoahaz, or SballuiH) w^ d^hrooed^
(after a reign of three months, which ^rt Mo cpm-*
prebended in the 3ifi of his father}, by Pharapb Necbot
9nd put in chains at Riblab ; and a predidiop, of e^urf
credit with biftory, had been emitted, «^ that be lhoul4
die in Egypt, the place wbitbejr he had been led caf*
tive*." Zedeki^h, therefore, was the only fon of
Jofiab, who bad been carried to Babylon. This in*
du&ion of circunailances terminates %, the in&renc^
that the Evangelift referred to no particular pprlbns fp-r
^oved fiom Judab into Babylonia, neither to any p9r<p
ticular term between the fourth of. Jeboiakim, ani ti^
^ith of ;^ekiab* His words however intiwitei tfa^t
both Jeboiakim and Jeconiah were born prior to ttl^
firft captivity of Judab ; — that Salatbiel was bora i^me
ti^iQ after the tranfportation of his father ; — b^t i^P
precifp interval s^, in neither cafe, defined : nor was k
necelTary. The regifler allows a latitude of intjerpre-
t^tion. Jphoiakim might have been near 36 y^n. old
before he was put in fetters ; and Sals^tbiel OMgh^fbAVje
been born before the captivity of Zedekiah.

6. Mill and Kufler, on thepaflage, quote nume*
rous and refpefiable authorities for reading, <^ Jpfiait
hegii Jakeim, or Joakeim ; and Jakeim, or Jpakeii9»
begat Jeconias." Though Laud, Selden, Petau, H.
Stevens, and a cloud of other witneffes, give their fanc<*

* Jcrcm. xxii. 11, 12.

lion

from]o$iAn to Salathiel. ^i

tion to this fuppofed improvement ; yet the more an-
cient fathers, Epiphanius, Auftin, Ambrofe, Irenaeus»
&c, cenfure the propofed change of names as an inno-
vation ; beoaufe, in their judgement, ^he words as^tn-
ciently read and ilill extant, are fufSciently difcrimi-
iiated, though the names are the fame *. Zedekiah, as
the brother of Jehoiakim, is excluded from the genealogy
of this period ; but retains his rank as the lafi of the
lings, who fat on the throne of David.

* Yardley adopts the opinion of Trapp, in applying the
(ame name to the fon and gi-andfon of Jofiah ; conformably to
the fiuthority of the Chriftian fathers, above mentioned. This
(deciSon fuperfedes the ufe and npceflify of the various readings
cpUeded by JVXill and Kufter, which feem to bring the {ufj^iou
of inaccuracy on the text of the Evaqgelift, as now read, Tbis
diverfity of fentiments among the ancient and modern critic?,
only Ihcws that variations had crept into the feveral copies of
this gofpel, even in the fecond century of our era. In a mat-
ter where certainty is unattainable, aad either clauie of an al-
ternative, unimportant, every judicious reader is left to his
own difcretion. Perfedlly confiftent with this freedom qf
choice is the remark, that the correiSlion, fupplied by our
•modem critics, feems much more agreeable to the form* of the
Catalogue, which in other inftances repeats the feme name,
firfl. ip the relation pf a fon, and next of a father : " Jgfias
bpgat Joiakim, and Joiakim begat Jeconias."

CHAP^

266 Genealogy.

CHAP. V.

Chronological Problems folved by Genealogy.

THIS rubje£l, being retrofpeflive, may be pro-
nounced a deviation from ftri£l method. But it
could nowhere elfe be introduced more naturally;
and its fubfervience to future arrangements willy it i|
bopedy recommend it as an interlude, which tends rather
to diverfify, than retard the profecution of the primary
undertaking) or mar its final effefi.

Of modem chronologers Sir Ifaac Newton was the
firft who, with a degree of penetration, peculiar to
bimfelf, (fuccefsfully applied genealogy, as a middle
term, for adjufting to the courfe of nature the chrono^
logy of the Gentiles in the fabulous ages), made im*
portant difcovcries. It is to be regretted, that he did
not adopt for his ftandard the Hebrew computation, as
extant in the original records of the facred canon ; and
not as exhibited by Petau, Scaliger, Uflier, and their
followers. To him, however, the learned world is
indebted for certain improvements in the art of hifto*
rical combination, no lefs ufeful than lingular.

I. He

Remarks en Series II. and III. tt^

X. He makes the proper diltinftion between gene-
tations and reigns, which quantities Herodotus, and

-other Gentile writers, erroneoufly confounded, as equw
valent and commenfurate.

a. In \m elaborate work, the Chrpnology of

.Ancient Kingdoms amended, is the mean term
of intervals, in family defcents, fixed to three fuccef-
fions in a century. If the reckoning proceed in the line
of the eldeft fons, il8, or at the moft 30 years, is the
meafure of a generation : if in that of younger brotherg,
33 ; that is three in a century at an average.

3. In computing by reigns, and by the firft borti
fona, 18 is the cc»nmoa meafure ; if by younger bro-
thers ao, or five reigns for a century. Tbefc diftinc*

• tions between generations and reigns, founded in eom-
mon fenfe, are eminently ferviceable in regulating hif-
tory. . For in the words of this great author, " The

! reigns of kings are (horter than generations, becaufe
J(ings are fucceeded not only by their eldeft fons, but
fometimes by th^ir brothers. Sometimes thisy are flam
or depofed, and fuQi^eeded by others of an equal or

, greater age, efpecially in eleSive or turbulent king*
doma*." For thefe obvious realbns, generationSt

: counted in the line of kings, are (horter than in fami-

'lies of a fubordinate rank. In hereditary monarchies,
the apparent heirs contrafl early marriages from politi*
cal motives ; while others, not provided with equal
advantages for rearing a family, defer connubial 6n<r
gagements to a more advanced ftage of life,

• Ncwtop's Chrpiiology, page 54. .

On*

268 Genealooy

One other remark, to this purpofe is not here to be
fuperfeded. Sir Ifaac Newton reckons the proportionate
quantum, both in generations and reigns, from the ab-
breviated term of natural life, which was firft reduced
Co its prefent ftandard about the time of Saul* Some
of the arrangements with refpefl to the ancient hiftoiy»
if fo it may be called, of Egypt and Greece, this very
refpedable author has brought too low; and on this
account, a greater latitude in computation for thofe
early periods is reafonable.

In the Hebrew records the vouchers for :^ the mestn
length of generations, and the real roeafure of fingle
snagiftracies, are much more explicit, regular, coptkin-
ous, (not to fay far more authentic), than ip thofe of
paganifm, the earlieft of which are comparatiTeix it^'
cent. An abridged fcheme of the genealogy, in the
times of the patriarchs and judges, has been given in che
foregoing chapters of this Analyiis : and it is judged
requifite to fubjoin a more minute fpecimen of fi^dt-
mental principles in computation, during the period of
regal government from Saul to Zedekiah.

Th£ confirudlion and ufes of the foUowing tabi^
vfDU it is hoped, be much more perfpicuous from ex-
planatory notes on each column, than it could have been
made by preliminary rules for the illuftration of its ic«
veral parts.

A.M.

A. M. Names.

29 1 1 [Saul confccratcdj
2921 David bom
2971 Solomon
3004 Rehobcram
3020 Abijah
3038 Afa
3057 Jehofliaphat
3078 Jehoram
3100 [Ahazlah]

[Athaliah]
3123 [Joafh] .
3145 [Amaziah]
3195 Uzziah
3220 Jotham
3242 Ahaz
3258 Hezekiah
3JOO Manafleh
3325 Araon
3351 Jofiah

[Jehoahaz]
3375 Jehoiakim
3393 Jeconiah
3421 [Zedekiah depofed]
2971

450

[. and III.

269

• ••

l» 11.

•••

lU.

IT.

♦3,

40

7t

30

40

70

*20

39

60

33 *27

»7

44

16 *28

3

3^

18 *X3

40

54

19 35

24

60

21 *36

8

44

22 23

I

24

00 00

6

00

23 7

40

47

22 25

29

54

50 *4

52

56

25 *3i

16

47

22 *25

16

4«

16 25

29

54

42 12

55

67

25 *42

2

44^

26 *i8

31

4»

00 00

00

00

24 25

II

36

18 00

00

55

28 *35

II

46

450 492 510 1054

Exphn^tot^

«70 GlNEAtOGY

Explanatory Notes,

As to the conftru6lion of the table, the numbers in
column i. denote the intervals of births, thofe in co-
lumn ii. the years of the kings at their accellion ; iii«
the duration of reigns ; iv. of lives. Its ufes are briefly
to be confidered.

Column i. Intervals of Defcent*

The date of each birth is connefted with the current
years of the world towards the left hand margin, on the
fame horizontal line ; and to fuch years the other co-
lumns 6f numbers have no reference.

Inclosed in brackets are the names which do not
belong to the genealogical regifter of thrice 14 gene-
rations, as framed by the Evangel ill. The defcendants
from Jeconias II. to Jefus Chrift exclufively, are 13 :
and thofe between David, the lafl; of the firft feries, and
the fame Jeconias, 18 : and if4'i2==30> ^ furplus of
twice 14 by two units, or dcfcents.

As the line of genealogy is continued from Judah,
Saul the Benjamite is properly excluded. For this reafon,
the year of the world for his birth is not marked ; but that
of his confecration, which afligns him a rank among the
kings. The word born annexed to David's name is to
be fuppofed after thofe of his progeny, who reigned
one full year. Ahaziali indeed is of this number, and
his name was moft probably in the original record*
though not as one of the fecund feries in the genealogy.
The Evangelift had more refpeft to the continuity of

R£MARKs on Series IL and III. 07^

time^ than to the number of names. Joafh, the fon of
this prince was born in the laft year of his father's life^
and is not improperly reprefented, as the immediate
fucceflbr, in blood, to his grandfather Jehoram.

All thofe learned men, who have critically exa-
mined this catalogue, admit, that the truth of the. gene-
logy does not require an exa6l enumeration of ChriftV
anceftors, though they have not been fuccefsful in theie
conjeQures concerning its original ftrufture.

Jehoiakim may, for a fimilar reafon, be retained
in the lift of kings, yet rauft be excluded from the
genealogy, if Jofeph be inferted. Jiis fon was the
firft of thofe princes, condemned to exile in Babylon;
and his birth was more nearly conneSed in time with,
that difaflrout incident, than that of his father : for
hi$ age at the time of Jofiah's death was feven years,
and he may no lefs properly than Joafli be reckoned
the immediate fucceffor of his grandfather. ** About
the time they were carried away to Babylon/' is a
fignificant circpmftance which feems both to fuggeft
and author ife this arrangement.
. Athaliah, as a female, can have no place ^n this
roll. Her age is not defined, either at the time of hef
ufurpation, or of her tragical ejid. As a fovereign (he
reigned, or rather domineered, fix years, and as fuch
only her name is introduced in the royal calendar q£
the Jews.

The name of Jehoahaz is inclofed in brackets, be«
caufe he was not the father of Jehoiakim. His (hort
reign is included in the laft of Jofiah, as is that of the

fecond

2'JZ GtS L ALOGY

fecond Jecon!as in the laft of his father. Zedekiab it
here inferted as a king, not as a conftituent member in
the genealogy.

Thus the names from David to Jofias, excluding
botb> are reduced to 14 generations ; and from JdEoA
to Jefus Cbrifi} the laft not included, to the £uite pre*
cife number. Hence refults the probable conclofioD,
that the Evangelift's catalogue, as now refiored, wSl
fairly admit this arrangement. But it remains to be
ihewn, in a diftind chapter, in perfefl confiftetice with
the truth of computation, and with every circumftanoe
in the catalogue itfelf, that the names of Abaziah and
Jehoiakim may be replaced ; nay, that without them the-
jvgifter is incomplete.

Ad it is impoflible to difcover in what year of Je*
conias IL his fon, Salathiel was bom, ^the intennecEate
Ipace cannot be defined by certain intervals. The
mode of computation for the third feries, in which the
mean quantity of generations muft be afcertsned if
atn equation, obvioufly differs from that of the ttm
former.

From the nth of Zedekiab, A. M. 34ll» is de-*
dufted the year of Solomon's birth 2971 : and the fiir-
plus, 450, divided by 17, the number of the iiam€t> not
inclofed in brackets, quotes 26 years eight months fi»r
the equated ages of the feveral fathers at the birth of
their fpecified fons. But, if Ahaziah be taken into the
reckoning, 450, divided by 18, the mean fpace between
defcents is precifely 25. The folution of this chrono*
logical problem avinces, that the truth of computation

■ ■ . *7 is

REMARKiS MSLKiLi II. and IIL 273I

il tibt i^fieded By i fmall variation of numbers during
tire rotation of four or five centuries : and if generation^
in the line of kings be commonly (horter than in other
families, the reafon has already been fuggefted, that'the
priqces in hereditary monarchies generally marry at an
earlier period than other men. Hdnce a lefs protra3ed
intiefWal in defcinits. This inference reils on the furo
bafis of hiftorical evidence ; for from Abraham to Da-
vid, as alfo from Jofiah tp Chrift, fuch ifitervals are
much longer in privstte families, than in the interme-
diate feries from kings. *

By a' critical examination of the records, whence
this re^fter is (ixtra^ed, it recovers its primeval and
genuine form. Mutilations, the refult of accident, pre«^
fumptiious ignorance^ or fuperficial erudition, are re-
ftordd ;* and ' the New Tcfiament brought to hartoonife
in every note with the 6ld. * Every afpeA of a paradox
aflumes the hue of plain truth, and the courfe of nature
feems uniform in operation, fuitably to the fixed ap^
pointmeht of an immutable God. The only inftances
of apparently premature generation, occur in the cafe
of Rehbboam and Ahaz, whofe fons, Abijah and Heze-
kiah, it mufl be admitted, were but 16 years younger
than tlteir fathers. Here is no phy fical improbability.
Such examples -may be uncommon, but; not incredible.
Early puberty, ih fpme individuals, is the refult of con-
ftitution, or, in many more, depend on the influence of
trlimate^' In China it is faid the ladies are. mothers at
12, grandmothers at 24, and fuperannuated at 30. —
Neither is it fuppofed,' in the lapfe o( 16 generations,
— ^ . T that

< •

^74 G £ X £ A L O C Y«

that the prolific faculty tailed to the period of extieme
Icniliiy. In the table are but two •examples of procre-
ation at 50y aiid beyond that ag|e none.

Column ii. ^ge of Accejpon*

w

Thus far kings have been confidered, not In their
public capacity, but in their domeftic relation^ z& pro-
genitors and defcendants. *' Coacemuig tbpfe of Da-<
vid*s race, 21 in number/' Jofephus affiri^s,** that they:
reigned 514 years, fix months, and ten days. 3aul was
the firft ;" (certainly not of David's family *). «* The
1 8 kings of Judah, who fucceeded Solomon, reigntd
390 years, which is, one with another, 22 years
apiece i." Add Saul, David^ and Solomon, with the
fum of their reigns, 4o-i-40'j-39=:;ii9; th^ number
of the fovcrcigns is, as before, 2X ; that of their, reigns
510. Neither Jofephus nor Sir Ifaac did recoIle£U.that
the three months of Jehoahaz, and the thref months
ten days of Jehoiachin, being taken in to complete the
lall deficient year of their refpedive fathers, ^ve tbem
no right to a place in the royal calendar. Their num^
ber is thus reduced to 19, without Saul and Atha*
liah.

At the bottom of column ii. the number 492 de-
notes the fum of years prior to the acceffioa of the
feveral princfes. ' By 20 divide 492, the i}uoUeaC^ 24
years (even months, is the mean proportion of 3ge, wJben
each aflumed the fceptre. The refult of this oparacioo

• Ant, z. 1. 4* t Newt, Chron. p. $%»

tariet

.■ V

Remaeks m Series 11. and ItL 275

Taries but in a finall degree from the mean interval of
defcents. Thus are the computations in the two columns
fubfervient to reciprocal confirmation. It is to be re-
marked, that four of the young princes were minors.

Of the numbers in this column marked with afte-
rifks^ the ufe is now to be explained. The number of
reigns thus difiinguiflied is 12. In fome cafes the no«^
tations of age are altogether omitted ; lor e^tample^
Solomon^ Abijah, Afa : in others the notation is par-
tial — ** Saul,'* as the text is now read, *• was the fon of
one year *.** In certain texts the riumbers are impair-
ed, in others enlarged.

Years omitted*

Saul

Solomon *
Abijah
Afa

Joram -
Jotham *
Ahaz *• -

Jofiah •*
Zedekiah *

30

20

28

4
6

5
10

14

Years added.

Rehoboam
Amon
Uzziah ^

14
20
16

130

Miftahes csmSfed iy paral^

kl Texts.
Ahaziah faid to have been

42 years old. The true

number 22«
jeconiah eight years old*

The true number 1 8.

These miftakes, proceeding from various fources, and
promifcuoufly difperfed in records framed with the utmoft
precifion for defihbg the parts of time^ in a continuous

* I Sam. xiii. x.

ferics

2^6 Oenealocyj

feries of years and generations, are fufficient to Ijpread a
gloom of obfcurity over the hiftory of 4.000 years. It
is one chara6ler of pre-eminent excellence in the facred
vyritings, that they comprehend in themfelves the means
of re£lifying fuch overfights as disfigure their furface,
through the unavoidable imperfefiion of fallible men.
The Bible has furmounted a multiplicity of trials* It
has flood the tell of criticifm. Let the fame experiment
be applied to the dynafties o( Egypt ; the immenfely
amplified chronology of the Clialdeans, Chinefc) Gen^
tQoSy Hindoos, &c. j the operator will find, that the far-
ther he proceeds, the greater will be his diftance from
light and truthj from coherence, order, and certainty.

Column iii. Length of Reigns*

«« In the later ages, fince chronology hath been cx-
aft, fcarcc is an inftance to be found, of tci* kings
reigning any where in continual fucceflSon, above 266
years ♦ ;" that is, 26 years apiece.

Whist ON has evinced the fallacy of this pofitioa
by referring to the teftunony of authentic faiftoiy, (in
times much later than the era to which Sir Ilkac al-
ludes), where it is (hewn that 12 kings iii England^
from William the Conqueror to Richard III. reigned
in continual fucceffion 27! years each:— that 12 kings
in France, from* Rupert to Philip IV. reigned ia cpn-
tinual fucceffion 32^ years apiece t."

« Newtbn's Chronology. ^

t Confutation of Sir Ifaac Newton's Chronology, ijii.

IX

Remarks on Series II. and III. 277

It merits ferious obfervation, that in an age before
chronology was exa6l) a certain clafs of men, the He^
brew prophets and hiftorians, wrote according to nature
and truthi the tiranfaSions of 2i reigns in continual
fucceflion, almoft equal to twice 260 years. The num-
ber ^ the bottom of column iii. is 510, Divide this fum
by 21, the mean quantity of reigns is 24 years 3 months.
This great man meant nothing lefs than to in^ralidate
the authority of the facred records. But his zeal to
explode the incredible antiquity of the pagan eftabiifli-
ments induced him to abbreviate the meafures in com-
putation ; and in many inflances, efpecially his arrange-
ment for the age of Sefoftris, he has afligned too late 2^
period for the rife of the Egyptian monarchy ; and
likewife for feverstl notable epochs fubfequent to the
introduftion of an accurate chronology ; particularly
the origin of Ropie, which he brings too low by 1^6
years.

Column iv. Duration of Lives^

Our Britifli bills of mortality, if the fafts be re-
ported with precifion, are of fignal ufe for afcertaining
the advance or decay of population, the yearly refult
of national maladies, and the more critical feafons of
life, with refpeft to the probable chances of longevity.
From fuch documents has it been found, that the one
half of the human race fcarcely furvives the age of five
years. Whatever light political arithmetic, or medical
pra£lice, may derive from authentic records of this
tind, they have not yet been applied to a difcovery of

T3 great

278 Genealogy.

great importance for evincing the utility of genealogy
in chronological difquifitions. Much is it regretted,
that fo very few ingenious men, enriched with the
treafures of erudition, and qualified by a penetrating
faculty of OBSERVATION, have attempted to fix that
intermediate point of time, which is at nearly an equal
diftance from the birth of a family fucceflbr, and the
ultimate term of life, in the times fubfequent to its ab-
breviation : for example ; fuppofe the line of defcent
be continued, fo as that every 34th year fliould. be the
firfi of a new generation ; and that 70 years are, with
a very few exceptions, the ultimate period of natuial
Hfe : — in what year of the current generation, (that
computed), does the father ufually die i

This query has efcaped the fagacity of Sir Ifaac
Newton, of Trapp, Yardiey, and others, whole ^pro«
fefled fubje£): is our Lord's genealogy. Its folutton/
however, feen^s to be momentous.

Moses tells us, that Adam lived 130 years and be*
gat Seth ; that Adam lived after he begat Scth 800
years, and died at the age of 930. With all thcfe Ipc-
cifications of time is the genealogy of the patriarchs
continued down to Ifaac. With Jacob the notation
of births, by the current year of each father, ends, and
the chronology is expreffed by fixed periods, but not
without a fpecific reference to the genealogy. For in-
itance, the 430 years of fojouming are divided into
two equal parts. The former computed from the 75th
of Abraham exclufively to the 1 30th of Jacob, fills up
2 1 5 years, and four generations born in Canaan> Ifaac,

*6 Jacob,

R£MARK5 9n SfiRiES 11. and III. 279

Jacobi Jmlstfa, and Pliarez : the latter, from the 1 30th of
Jacob to the 80th of Mofes, comprehends the fame
quantity of timCt meafured hkewife by four generations,
born in Egypt ; Hezron, Aram, Amtninadab, Nah(hon«'
<♦ Afterward they" (the Ifraelitcs) " fliall come out in
the FOURTH GENERATION, With great fub-
ftance*."

The next period of 480 extends from: the egrefs to
the foundation of the firft temple, and includes a part
of fix generations, from Nahfhon to Sobmon. With
David commenced a two-fold mode of afcertaining
chronology ;— *by generacion& and reigns. But the fa-
cted hfftorians judging it improper to mention the fe-
veral kings, prior to their invefliture with fovereignty,
generally mark with cardinal numbers the complete
ytttt%i paft at the date of their: acceflion ; and it is re-*
siarkable, that though the age of the patriarchs born
after the egrefs, isf not definaJ ; yet that of all the
kings pofterior to Saul is virtually recorded ; becaufe
the years of tbeit feveral reigns, added to thofe before
their acceflion, are the fum of thehr years at the time
of their damife.

It is (lili more remarkable, that thofe perfonages^
pnly^ who were not in the line of the genealogy, are
excepted. The 2^e pf Athaltah when file afcended her
fon*s throne is omitted, becaufe flie was^ an^ ufurper and
a female: yet the lengthvof ^er ufurpation is defined,
to prevent a blank in the computation by ^leigns;

T4 On

i8o Genealogy.

On the other hand, the ages of Jehoahaz, of JehoH
achin, and of Zedekiah, at the acceffion of each; are
fpecified (the fecond not without a variation, the third
erroneoufly) ; alfo the duration of their reigns, though
the firft two do not enlarge the chronology. . All three
were removed, and, as private charaOers, died in a ftate
of degradation, ignominy, and exile. Impoffible it
therefore is, to afcertain the length of th&r lives ; and
were it poflible, it is needlefs, becaufe thefe three name$
are excluded from the genealogy.

It is farther to be noted, as a "peculiarity of the
chronological numbers in the hiftory of the kings, that
the royal calendar of Samaria does not mention at
what age the kings over the ten tribes afcended the
throne. The duration of their reigns is fpecified. Sq
much was indifpenfably neceflary to charajtorife poin*
cident years, in coexiilent reigns, and to circumfcribe
the prophetical period of 39Q, from the difmembecing
of the kingdom after Solomon : and no farther dfit
the intent of the infpired hiilorians extend.

The queilion now recurs. Why i^ the chronobgjt
of the kings over Judah difcriminated with fo many.
lingular and appropriate marks of precifion ? Why. is
the age of each, at the-time of his acceffion, exproffed,
and not only fo, but rep^ted> together with the length-
of the feveral reigns ?

One reafo^ occurs. It was, doubtlef^, to give the
chronology of the period an additional chara3er of
certainty and perfe£lion, by bringing it to the infalliblp
teft of genealogy, that the notations of time^ ihould

Remar]^^ (in S:£RIJES. H; and III. t9l

tbey he accidentally corrupted, (which in feveral cafes
has happened), might be rcftored to purity by adjuft-
ing them to the uniform courfe of nature in gene**

ration*.

This laft column comprehends ai lives, of which
the fum is 1054 ; or 50 years three months each. Thus
every 51ft year is the intermediate point in time, equi*
diftant from the birth of a family fucceflbr, (the com.
ropn interval fuppofcd tq be ^o), and from 70, the
ufual period pf longevity.

' In this roll the flidrteft life is a4, the longeft7i.
But they were the lives of kings, who, from the

"9- For any thing known to the autiior of thefe {heets, this
only pofiible method of corrigdtion has now, for the firft time*
been attempted. The difquifition has been a work of la-
bour. Dilappointment was often the refult, in many fteps of
})is procedure. By adding the age pf acceffion to the length
of every Teign, W98 the duration of each life difcovered ; and
the effe^ of retrograde computation pointed out the curDcnt
year of every fpvereign at the nativity of his fucceflbr. If
^he year thus either a^Tumed, or found, were apparently dif-
cordant with hiitpry, every circumftance was brought, into
juxtapofition, compared with difctimination, and a conclufion
framed, according to the higheft probability. If the year
difcovered were repugnant to the courfe of nature, three ex-
pedients occurred; i. A minority, and eonfequently a re-
gency, a. A conjunft reign, whence the hiftory dates inva-
riably the age of the junior fovereign. 3. An erroneous note
of number, arifing from the limilar figures of numerical fig-
paturcs in the Hebrew alphabet. With deference are his
fefearches, and conclufions, fubmitted to the decifion of candid
and impartial judges,

accidents

4 \

^Sa Gekealo^y.

accidents already enumerated, have fewer chances of
longevity than other men. Eight of this number were
cut off by a violent death. The laft two were dethroned^
and no account of their age occurs *• On thefc princi*
pies it is a fair conjc&ure, that men in private life fur-
vhre the birth of their heirs 25 years at an average.

* <* It came to pafs in the 37th year of Jehdachin's captu
xitjt in the zath montb> on the 17th day of the month, that
ETil-MerodaCy the fucceflbr of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Ba-
bylon » did lift op the head of Jehoiachin, out of prffon : and
be fjpake kiadly unto him, aikl iet bis throne above the throne
of the kings who were v/ith him in Babylon ; and changed hit
prifon- garments : and he did eat bread continually before him»
an the days of his life. His allowance was a continual allow-
ance, given him of the king, a daily rate for ever y day, all the
days of his life." s Kings, xxv. »;. The 37th of Jehoiachin*s
captivity was the 55th of his age. This quotation mentions
an allowance for his fapport, all his days, which evidently im-
plies that he furvived his enlargement from the prifon fevend
years. But on this furmife, though' it were certain, nothing
depends. Salathiel might have been bom about the time of
Zcdckiah's degradation, or 51 years before the return from
Babylon; and Zerababel, the grandfon of Jehoiachin, might in
the firfk of Cyrus conduct the captives back to their own
land.

CHAP.

e a83 )

"T"

=36

MM*

CHAP. VI.
Continuation of the Third Series*

3. Con! ah ^ yehoiachin, or Jeconias II •

** r\ EARTH, earth, earth, hear the word of the
Lord ; write ye this man childlefs, a roan that
(ball not profper in his day ; for no man of his feied
(hall profper, fitting upon the throne of David, or rut*
ing any more in Judah */* This folemn denunciation
is not to be literally interpreted. Kings may be faid
to be fathers in two refpe£ls. Heirs of their blood and
of their dignity, are in different fenfes their children.
Jeconias was in both refpefts the fon of Jehoiakim ;
but in the latter fenfe only was Zedekiah the fon of
Jeconias. He fucceeded him on the throne, and was
the laft of David's race who ruled in Judah. The
denunciation does not imply the extin3ion of Jeconiah's
family, b.ut exprefsly affirms the diflblution of the mo-
narchy, as the words are properly applied. In this
view die threatening is equivalent to another on the

^ Jen xxii a9> 30.

£imf

284. Genealogy

fame fubjcft, though in different terms : " The Lord
faid, I will remove Judah alfo out of my fight, as I re-
moved Ifrael, and will caft oflF this city Jerufalem *^'*

4. Salathiely Shealtiel.

♦« The fons of Jecoijiah, Affir, Salathielt," &c.
*^ Tiemellius thinks he had no fon called Aflir, nor any
fon at al( ^-^that th^ word Aflir here is x\ot the name
of a man, but (ignifies bound or captive ; — and that the
words (hould run thus ; the fons of Jeconiah the cap-,
live, Salathiel, Malchiram, and Pedaiah," &c.

This conjefture has every afpefl of truth, fre-
quent examples occur of names impofed on children, in
allufion to hifiorical incidents. The eldeft fon of Mo^
fes, born in Midian, was called Ger(hom» a Jlranger
iherty and for a like reafon the firft bom of ^vi in
Egypt.

5. Xorolaleh

■

In Mat. i. 12. he is faid to he the fon of Salathiel,
and in i Chron. iii. 19. the fon of Pedaiah. Sut
cither way he was the grandfon of Jeconias. Other
difficulties occur, for which Grotius,Trapp, and Yardley>
(to whom the learned reader is referred), offer not ^pro?
bable folutions. Of ZorobabeKs fons and more remote
defcendants, the names in the Chronicles differ entirely
from thofe in the Evwigelifl^ unlefs Abiud hre be the

* a Kings, x^iii. 27* f x Chron. iii. 17.

from SA-LAfHI^L tt CHRIST. dH^ *

faftie' A^ith Obadiah, a grandfon of ^orobabel thite}
" It is obfervable, that both he and his fons might havd
diflfereiit liaities ; one ih tlieir own family, and another
among the people to whom they Were captives. K
was fcafce fafe for Zorobabcl to be called in Babylon
by that name, which flgnifies the ivinnowing if Babei\
and therefore he was amortg the* Babylonians called
Shezhbazzar. So his fons w^m Calltid Mefliullam and
Harianiah ; b^Caufe the one could fcatce pto^ly^ as
well as fcarce fafely, be called Abiud^ my father^ s glory \
the other Rhefa^ a prince *.*'

The remaining names in this Evangelift's regifteri
denote perfonages pofterior to the clofe of the Old Tef-
tament canon, and are, without doubt, copied from au-*
theatic vouchers. They are, 6. Abiud, 7. Elialcim^
8. Azor, 9. Sadoc, 10. Achim, ii. Eliud,:i2. Eleazari
13. Matthan, 14. Jacob. Thus is the line of pedigrei
continued to Jofeph and Mary, the one not the natural
father of our Lord's humanity, the other excluded, by
her fex, from the Hebrew genealogy.

Jos I AS has been placed at the head of the third fe-
ries. From what point in phyfical time the date of ihi
next generation (hould be reckoned, is doubtful. Whe-
ther from the birth of Jeconias II. in the42dof Jo-
fiah's life, or from ' that more remarkable term, his
removal from the throne, feems to be an indifferent
matter, the difference is but 18 years. Certain ij is

♦ Dr. Jofeph Trapp's note on Matt. i. 13.

that

ft86 Genealogy

that his fon^ Salathiel, was not born before the traa*
^ortation to Babylon*

Christ was born A. M. 4004^ and Jeconiah was
maile a captive in 341 1« But, as Salathiel was not
bom before the conflagration of the temple and city^
the reckoning by the fourth generation from Jofiah in«
clufively may be deferred to the 29th of Jehoicfaia's
Kfe, coincident with the nth of Zedekiah^ and the
prefumed date of SalathiePs birth, A. M. 3421. This
fum deduQ from the hiflorical year of Chrift's nativity
4004, the furplus is 583. From the unavoidable de-»
ficiency of genealogical notations, no expedient, for
finding a mean proportion, is accefEble otherwife than
by an equation. By 11, the number of generations
from Jeconias to Jofeph, excluding both, divide 583^
the quotient, 53 years precifely, is the common interval
of defcents. Evident it is, that this quantity exceeds
the fpace between generations in the line of royalty,
by dlmoQ. a half. But here is no myftery ; for reafont
have been afligned for princes marrying fooner than
other men; and alfo for the various accidents, which
often prevent their longevity.

It has likewife been noted, that, from the time of
Arphaxad's birth, the mean length of generations hat
uniformly been fomewhat more than 30 years ;— -that
no fooner was the promife intimated to Abraham, that
in his feed all the families of the earth fhould be blefled^
than procreation in that line made flower advances ;*— «
that from David to Jehoiachin, the interval fell below

the

frm Salathiel t9 Christ. 187

the common (landard ; — and thenceforward, it is now
evinced, that, during the fpace of almoft fix centuries,
the ufual term of procreation in that line was length-
ened by about 20 years. It was evidently the intent
of over-ruling Providence, that the number of Chrift's
anceftors, according to the flefh, fliould, comparatively,
be few ; and it feems not inconfiftcnt with the great
defigns of efTential Wifdom, that his progenitors fhould,
like Abraham, have their faith and patience long tried,
by the difcipline of a fledfaft expeftation. ** They
daggered not through unbelief, but againft hope be-
lieved in hope.**

Mr. Yardley feet no occafion for inferting Jofeph's
name in this regifler^ becaufe he does not fupply the
place of one generatioa. Genealogies, p. 220. By
dm regulation-is Jehoiakim refiored to his rank as one
of our Lord's progenitors: and thus is the threefold
drvifion completed without the defe6l or excels of a
(ingle name.

' K . * .

CHAP,

S8S G £ K £ A L O G f #

CHAP. vn.

Kiw Scheme of the Generations from Abraham i0

Jesus Christ.

T N computation by time, whether abfolute, or wrtfa
^ reference to generations; fpecial regard is due
to two terms, a firfl commencement, and a final periodw

MosES, in defcribing the formation of die univerfe,
charafterifes a natural day by its parts, EVENING' snd
MORNING, and counts three fuch days piior to tht
exifience of the luminaries. The fource of contpn-^
tation is that moment, when the Creator faid, ^^ Let
LIGHT BE.'' As foon as this glorious produfiion of
Omnipotence was colleded into that great orb the- SUNt
to the planets were afligned their circuits, "to nite
over the day and over the night» and to divide the fight
from the darknefs." Hence the true origiti ormeai-
fured time by the motion of the fpherOb-Aiound-'d^
centre of light.

Of natural days are compofed weeks, the moft atH
cient combination of times into an integral ptrt^ by
repetition, and, of all fubfeguent we6ks,abe primeval'
iS| in its form and dimenfiol||[[ the model. In reckons

N^w Scheme of fit Triple Series. 289

iitg» however, it is icfelf excluded ; that memorable
dijy on whidi the Almighty refied from all his works,
being here coofidered purely as the firft fource of com-
putation, l^ fepteaacy fyAems of natural days.

In like manner -the reckoning by generations muft
proc^d. When a fifft anceftor is found in btAory,tbe
genealogift coiifiders him only as the father of his race,
a-term 6i commencement, the point whence generations
begin. Si^pofe a 4oRg roll, in the lineal, orfome-
times perhaps, the collateral feries progreffively, conti-
nued to the palling age, the living reprefentative of
that firil anceftor is left out, and the intermediate de-
£;:ents are alone counted*

For example : ^* This is the book of the generations
of Adam ^ in the day that God created jnan.'^ Adam,
not having a human fatther and mother, was not gene^
rated ; neither can it properly be faid, that he was one
' of his own ofispring. The roll is brought down to
Shcm, the loth from Adam exclufively. Shera was
born in a fpecified year of Noah's life. That year
is the date of the loth generation, and its final period is
the yearof Arphaxad's nativity. On this principle,
the intermediate defcents from Adsmi to Shera, exclud-
ing both, are nine generations, and no more.

Why fliould it he prefumed, that the Evangellft, in
conftruding his Catalogue, adopted a diiferent mode in
computation ? " The book of the generation of Jesus
Christ, the fon of David, the fon of Abraham/*
Abrahan;! could not be one of his own progeny ; and
Jefus Chriil certainly was not one of his own human

U progenitors.

Qjgb Genealogy. •

progenitors. What if this new fchrine (hould Cenre i«'
a key framed for opening the myfteries involved in the
genealogies of both Testament s» by reftoring to tbe
£vangeliil*s regifier thofe names in th^ onginal xtcxxiis^
which either by accident, ignorance, pr injudicioiis cri-
ticiuDy have been retrenched from the firfl chapter of
tl.v g« ipei hillory * i The Evangelift, in hisr triple di-
vifion of names, invariably conne£ls hi^ricai eyentis
with perfons, and confequcntly chronology ¥rith genoif
rations. This happy union of middle terms» in com*'
putation, merits the heedful regard of all, who, with
the probability of fuccefs, enter into dilquifitions on
this complicated fubjeft.

*^ In regard three eltates of the Hebrew common-
wealth were mpre remarkable ; — as firft in a fiate of
growth or increafe, and governed by patriarchs, pror
phets, and judges, to the time of David (no account
being taken of the time of Saul, which was tragical
and unhappy, and hallened by the precipitate defires of
the people> before the time which God had cbofen fo|:
the monarchy) ; next, its regal flate, as it was gpvemr
ed by a race of kings from David to the time of tbe
Babylonifli captivity ; and laflly, in its weaker ftate of
declenfion and dependence, as this abolition of tin: reg^.
power was followed by a fucceflion of ducal governors
and chief priells, who ruled wit|i the aflillance of the

* The author ventures to call this attempt a n^w fibeme^
becaufe he has not feen it fuggefted by any of the judicious
and learned critics, in any of their works, (to which he hai(
had accefs), iu confldenng this fubjcd.

Sanbedri{q

New ScH«*A V^/A?Tfeif Li Series. t§t

Sunhfedrirti trfl Hfelt)d*s afltiWptlon 6f flie' g6t%>hffieftt;
<tcK long before ttie birth of Jcfiis.— It w&s St. Mat-
AfeW^s view ^to Avl6e ib k)*g a tmft of «me, Wkh to
€fe to tjleffe fwwatkable changes in tlie^gos^rfttaferft;
Tfes h agreeable to the «idthod< of 'moft 'hiftdm^
«lrtten' they Svdald give afirccitift vie\V of any ligation,
htm fifft to lift (as of the komans for exaidpfe, wh6
^prerc govchiedfirft by lungs, then by confuk, diftatorB,
and defceihvirs, and laft of all by emperors) ; and it
Alight give an intiniiation, that uipon the birth of Chrift,
at a like diftahce of generations with the fdrilter, iih6-
ther change of affairs might be expefted in the ^reftiotf
of that kiYigSom, which Ihould never be deftrbyfed *.**

Tnfe four hiflorical eVchits to wbich the Ev^mgeKff
alltfdes, and which this -qiio^tiota ^frxfemjpKfiesi iA tlie'
commehc'emeriti ^ogVefs', "^d '^nk'Jl the thrice XIV;
generations, aVe, the call bf Abtkh^rt, Vl^hcn the firffi
notable diftinftion between ^ his ete£l progeny and th^
profane gentileis tobk phtce t-^he full eftabliffirilent of
that fihgulaT and mahreHotis conftitotion, the Hebrew
pblityr— -its diflbluHon by the firft oVertlifow tof thd
tWy and temple, together With the teittporary difperljon
of the Jews :— thi ebnfurtmation 6f the law by Mofes,
and tke departtirfe of Jutfih^s fceptre, '\Vilh the vacancy
of David*s thrbne.

Suffice it to obferve, in general, that the chrono-
logical eharafters of thefe events need not be fo accu<»
rately diilidguifli^d, by years, months, and days, as in

» ftifimau's Bbyte Le<ft, toI, ii. Scrm. v.

V Z the

f 9t Gemvalogy*

the foregoing hiftorical arrangenfients. Neither is b
much precifion requiGte in determining wiiat individualt
belong to the end of ope feries, - or tbe begtnmitg of
another, as has been employed to prefenre ad agreement
between chronology, and the courfe of nature in pn>p
creation* The tme intent of this triple (Krifimi doet
not demand inveftigation fo minute, or dites: fixed willi
fuch exafhiefs. It is, however, fit to apply tfiis remark
to the particular periods already mentioned, left tht
notations of time, and of fapily defcents^ which the
Evangelift has, in every ftage, been fo attentivo to con?
ne6l, (hould be disjoined.

I. The abfurdlty of making Abraham ftand in tho
front of that catalogue, which profefledly contains the
names of his immediate and remote defcendaots, fugr
gefis the expedient of confidering him only as the pri-
mary fource of computation, and not as the ^ft naniQ
in the firft feries of XIV. generations*

Much more proper it were to begin with the timf
of his death. Nor is it neceflary to bring the term
of reckoning fo low. The date of the fojouming is
much more reafonable. 3ut the moft conuiiodious o£
all may be the time of Ifaac's birth, that branch o£*tbe
revered patriarch's family, in whom bleflin|g;s for all nii^
tions were refcrved.

QhjeSfion.

The intermediate Generatifns from Abraham h S^hmn^

excluding ivthy are thus reduced to thirteen.

On the h)'pothefes of all thofe rcfpeflable expofitom

who have taken in hand to adjuft the computation and

numb^

New Scheme of the Triple Series. 29J*

faiimbers of the Evi'ngeflft, t& the'Hebrew rctofds, ad-^
init that h6 mighv without incurring tlie .cenfuf^ of . a
deviation frcMB truths fe]e£l fiich names zi were iiiitabltf
to his views,' and fotnfetitnes omit two or three defceats
in fiicceffioBy together with the- ufiial difiindionbe*^
tween imnlediat^ and remote defceiidatits^ or between
thcffe-of the direA and tranfverfe line : riay, that he
ihight infert- fewer jiamei than t4 in. one feries, and
more in another^' provided all three- contained nearly
the number 4a. Thofe who approve fuch loofe pofi-
dons, have no right, in the prefent xrafe, to urge the
obje£lion, which is frivolous. '-But as this fohltion may
be pronounced unfatisfa3ory and ev^Iiyt^ a direfl reply
may enforce conyiQion, when. a iubterfuge can bear no
tftrefs. .. / .

r

It has been noted^ on Ruth, iV. 20. that the ori-
ginal text reads, (and^ for any thing alleged to the con-
trary), in all its copies, <* Nahlhon begat Salmah, and
Salmon begat Boa2.'* If Salmah were the fon, and
Salmon the *grandibn of Nahflion^ David certainly was
the 14th in defeent from Abraham i^clulively. The
reftoring of this n^me to the catalogue furmounts two
difficulties, mose perplexing than the objection, i. It
fliortens the ^ace >between generations from Nahflion
to David ; and^ .%. ^ Obviates the phyficai impoffibility
of the fuppoGtion, that Rachab was the mother of Boaz
by Salmon. If^ 6n the other hand, ihe were the wife
ol Salmah, (he :was alfo ,the gr^gidmother of Boaz.
' Thus Chroaolcgy > accords with the courfe of nature,
and ifac H€brew:iext with the.£vangeU&*s firft feiids of

U3 xiv.

> ■*.

^94 G E N i A. L 0,G Y^ : ,

XIV. generations. But, even without tpcouxte W Ham
expedient, the regifler may. be: conipleie^i cpn(ii^i)t^
Y^ith chronology and hiflory^ which is no^w^tQ l^e^yiap^*
. IL Th£ time wi^h which the fecood ferifi^.'b^giiit
is cbara^erifed by no de|berwiaaC<^ periqd ih: bifll>r|f* '
Pavid pr^cyeded the. buildbg of fh^. tsmfkh $p)plMi»
executed tl^ work according: t0 ^h^ siodo) giHen*. iuri
wit^ the. funda l^d up for thatrpu^ojfi^ . If^ %1b4 %j4%
gelift cdnnefikd.the q)ii'0nok>gy witii tbiftp^xiodlof-the
hiilorvy it feems aiv i^diSerent matter vchdtboii.lm <Mr
fidered the 13th. generation from Abnb^oij.aft^CuofflPriv
or the 14th as bfgun* It was. his deftgiii to letain^tbe
divifion of Ghrifi's ariceilors exempltfiedr i» theif bif-
Aory ^ the firft and laft clafi being private paxifo$^.^
fecond kings ; and as David was the firft of this.iiiieK-
xnediate rankj^ the divifion conges 'm}af^,tQ:eq^paiky> tpretk
though Solomon be counted, the lad of, tib& firA &rie^
If, as Dfh Berriman not improperly ccfi^i8diirc^»^ .Ais
triple diftrihu^pn were made, rather with »referQfK;€t tp
the political changes of the, Hel^rew ff^mmMir.Jii
its rife and growtb> declf^fK)!) ^nd difineinbeMl'QftCf^
partial diflblucion, and.iofs of -mdepqndciiic^ tlMili)^ 1».».
jnlnute diilinflioa of generatibm ^^-—tlictt thc^ firftipttMJ
ends with Solomon^ at the time of bis detnifiri. iMbtH'
the kingdom,, divided^againli it(blf, vrdi^ yaxgfnff tot tb&
.period of extinSion.

III.. The tranfpoitation. to Jlabyloo^ is ativ areiit dt-

fcribed wiih fuch latitude, as .admits either Jofias» J^

• ■hoiakim, or Jeconias, to be pkced at tkt top of.'dbe

third iencS) regard^ being fltll had to. the triple duefinqf

Ne^ Scheme •fthi Triple Series. ^95

tct art angetncnt 5— chrortoJogy, genealogy, and liiftory.
If Jofns be preforred, all the three are in perfedl uniibn^
IV. The Uft period^ with which the third fcriet
tarminatei, the Evangelift defines by the time of He-
rod^i deatfai and of hit Ton's acceflton. If this notation
be coimefled with the Roman hiftory, thii laft number
of the laiL feries is brought into coincidence with the
reign of Auguflus, under whom the fourth empire rofe^
and the foundation was laid of a kingdom never to be
deftroyed. Thus even the teftimony of prophecy afcer-
tains the final period of the thrice XIV. generations*

Refult rf this nnv Schimi,

Series I.

II.

HI.

1. Iloac.

T. Rehoboam.

I. Jofiah.

7,, Jacob.

2. Abijah.

2. Jehoiakim.

3. Judab.

3. Afa.

3. Jehoiachin.

4. Pharos,

4^' Jehofhaphat.

4. Salathiel.

5* Hezron.

5. Jehoram.

5. ZorobabeL

6. Aram.

: .6« Ahaitiah.

6* Abiud.

7. Aminadab.

7% JchoaDi.

7. Eliakim.

S. Nahfhon.

8« Amaziah,

8. Azor*

Salmah.

«

^. Salmon*

• •

9. Uzzlalu

9* Sadoc*

to. Boaz.

10. Jotham.

10. Acbim«

II. Obed.

II. Ahaz.

II. Eliud.

12. JelTe.

12. Hczekiah.

12. Elcazar.

13. David.

13. Maoaflfch.

13. Maithan*

14. Solomon.

14. Amon.

14. Jacob.

Jofeph.

• • •

* Chrijf.

U4

In

396 Y^ENEALOGT.

In the firfl feries Salmah's noiae, thoi]^ without a
number, is retained. From an inviohibfe regard to
fidelit}', a charafler eflfential to juil criticifm, the author
is conflraioed to acknowledge, that he is at a lois how
tO' determine thb doubtful article in computation* On
a ferious examination of the arguments on either fide,
(for this- fubjeft is now, for the third time, rcTumedj^
he, with a mixture of caution and diffidence, exhibits
bis fingdar opinion to pubKc view.

I. The names Salmah and Salmon are nhifoiiflly ex-
prefTed, as^ diftin3 perfons, in the Heb. text of Ruth, vr.
ao and 21, without the difcordant authority of one va-
rious reading ; and this di{lin6lion is prcfenred in
Queen Elizabeth's Englifh Bible, printed by Robert
Barker in i6io«

II. If the diftinflion lie admitted, the length of the
generations from Nahfhon to David, (406 years for
four generations) is happily abbreviated to anearer conn
formity with nature, by adding one defcent :

III. Rachab the mother of Boaz, if. ffie be fug^
pofed the fame who entertained the fpies, (which' the
Evangelift doth not affirm], muft have beeil either .fit-
perannuated or dead before the time of his birth, Bift
if his mother were a defcendant from, or a kififwoman^
of the firfi Rachab, in the tranfverfe line, the difficulty ir
furmounted ; and this firft Rachab might have beep the
wife of Salmah, and that marriage celebi:ate4'foon.aftjtr
the paffage over Jordan. . .. •: 1

IV. By this diIlin£lion, David is the 14th k «fefceat

from

hliU) Scheme rfthe Triple Series. 297

from Abraham, exclufivdy, in perfedi agreement wkb
Uiedeqifive escort of Mati. i. 17*

-''V .

OtpUhnu

1. T%t text tri Ruth is a Jtngle authority^ and contra^'
dtJ^o'ry to all the fubjequent regtften^ pdrflcutarly to that
in the fir fl chapter of the gojpel ty Matthew,

Anfwer. The po£tion>is inappofite, and the infer*
ence inconfequ^ntiaL Sundry important notations de*
pend on the authority of one foHtary text 4 for inftancet
the fpecification of 48Q years for th^ interval from
the egrefs to the fourth year of Solomon. This fpace
is much too long for four, generations from Nahflion^
on the common fuppofition that Nahfhon^as cut off in
the wildernefs, that Salmon, who married Rachab, was
his immediate fon, aad that this Rachab was the niothet
of Boaz by Salmon. But infert Salmah, the compu*
tation is brought within the limits of phyfical probabi«
Itty. It involves no abfurdity to conjefhirey that 8aU
mah was omitted in the other t^gitters, as id Salmon in
I Chron. ii. I2. As to the catalogue in the firft
chapter of Matthew, before the omiflion can be allowed
to have any force, k ought to be certified, that the
Dames Aha^ias, Joaz, and Amazias, were at any time
found in any one copy. If they were, that one copy
has unhappily eluded riie induftry of Mill, Kufter, Wet-
iletnt and Bowycr. Thefe three names occur in all the
Old Tefiament pedigrees, and as eflential parts of Mat«
l^w^s roUt are here reftored. In all the records the

loft

jt^ Gi^iALOGir.

lois or change of names might natorallf proceed tnrtA

the fame caufe. A copyill with the fulleft sntention of
executing an accurate tranfcript, direding his eye from
OhoziaS) Matt. i. 8. ; after cngroifing this word in his
parchment, might, on returning to the volume, find
Ozias, and mifled by the (imilitude of wocds, leave oat
the intermediate claufes, and fo retrench three gene-
rations from the catalogue. In the like manner mig&t
one copyift of the firft book of Cl}rotiicle»onii:t Salmpn ;
and another overlook Salmah in Matthew. TIk eiifpxal
text, in Ruth, feems to have been read<thus: f^Nah-
ihon begat Salmah, and Salmab begat' Salmofis and
Salmon begat Boaz,**^ &c.

2. // may he objtEfed^ that moJT tf the amkkt ^md mi^
Am verjions of Ruth have out Salmsth* • •

It is replied, that this is tru^ with rtfpaft to tht
Septuagint, and may alii> hold with reipeft-fto* odMff;
But verfions, may uniformly be .cnroheous^' and- can
nerit no ciredit in oppdfition.to the original .iextt: at
often as- it csiafli^rhaffinmi&srwitbitfaei'lniiA of chiut*
oology, hift>iy, aad! natiire.; which m tbe.afis !wi^tb«
text under review. .' i . . r ..y i

^. The adnuttance, ^ SalmaH kttst Ai .Svof^^s
roll renders impraSiicaHf a hint ffirmerfy^fugffJM^fnii^
mating the pi^thility of rejioring to Mat^hevfi<ai4hgitt
the names ofjehoiakim and Ahaziah* . . ' i

Anfwer. This objefUoii is, initsutmoft focc^«k
mitted. But it mud be recollefied^ that the fbiner
computation, framed on the vjulgar /fyftem^ prc£ippbfei
that the names of Abraham juid Jefiii Chri£ are iieoefi*

9 f»or

l^€w Schema (ftht Tslifi^i: Series. ^99
fery to Qom|4ert tl^- regifter of thrice XIY. gfiffftr
rations* This new scheme exclude&bothy^qockxitJQC
flc^tioa Qf ipaglying ^ paJpatl^ abfyrdity. JeboiakHn is
e^^ut, \n t)^. tpU,. updec . tho equivaj^t. Jl^aae oif tb^
fij^ft ; Jegpi^i^s ; the diSerence, being no moxe tW 4
variation of diale£l«

X^^ onjy queftipn iiow-Fcmai^ing for a foktipn 1^
lyh^^r ^'^g?^ .S*!«i3b .ox Abazviah to fee ^dxnitjpil
If ,1?<^ be neceived^'tke .lift is. redundant ; \\%di^pes^
if both be left out. To ofeferve every ciiteiion o£
CqPgWty betw^eatbe gQpe^logical regiftcrsof t^014
and llle»rXeil««nen<,. wu^relpea to chjfono^pgy^ Jp-
ftoig^ nature)* and the pjK^per difl^utm of the triple
ijsrie^t, into thirqe eqjDdl paxt^^SalmaK ha^ every, clam
to the preference. . . .: • . ,

In the cafe of Ahazlah, it has above been fuggefted,
A»t- his fon J^& was bom> in the- veryyesur- bf liis
grandfather Jehoram's dcmife ; and that, fhouM hi^
immedu^te fathery Ahaziah, beocnitted in ^be catalpgjae
oi deice^tS), oa Uaojc in tknf{ would b^: t\m xnivkv ^ftd
dstough) thQ £i»ngeltft^ moft probably^ iafelt^ idl HamB^
yet feft this difeovery irt ebmpktation to the iagacily of
hife readers ; — a point jiow no lefs obvious, tl^an that
Abraham and Jefus Chrift are not compieheoded lA the
iji^cmedi^tli geaeca^^ion^ ; that it is requifite to; iiidudb
Salmah in the. firft feries, to the end that it may-^ei**
minate in David ; that Joafli and Amaziah were tran-
fcribed into the original roll from the chronicle of the
kings in the fecond feries ; and that the third properly

begins

^oo Genealogy.

begins with Jofiah, and ends with Jacobs Jofej^Ii 6f
Nazareth^s father *.

This cautious and weH-mesfnt attempt to reconcile
the facred genealogies with truth and xlatore,. was nci-'
fher undertaken^ nor conduQed, with the view of re-
commending the corredion of the infpired oracles^ iii
the original text of either Teftam^ht ; — a power which
it is fuppofed no particular Chriflian church will, ill
this age of the world, arffuttie or execute. The author'^
£mguine wifh is to fuggcft a few hints, for the ufe of
the facred order, in their endeavours to elucidate the
Bible from the pulpit or the prefs. This ihi^uaiRe
code*~of divine knowledge, after every eflbr(ii6' unfold
its precious contents, ftill continues, in manf^rdljp^Ss a
iealed book to many of its readers*

* Unwilltng to incur the imputation of ralhndi» iiIiuUh^
a new name to the regifter, the author has affixed to Salmah
fio number, while Ahaziah is marked as the 6th in the (econd
foies. Thofe judicious readers who acknowledge tfie force
of the four reafons alleged in fixvour of Salmah, p. 996, srd
left at liberty to prefix the number 9 to hi» namcr ttd to ex*
punge 6 before Ahaziah. By the arrangement hfrtj^poM^
Beceflary it was to reftore four names from the Hebrew re-
cords ; but omitted by the Evangelift. Ahaziah, it has becfft
fiewn, mufi be included in the lift of kings, but m€^ be omitted
in the line of Chrift's progenitors^ becaufe the tal«<if intennei*
diate years is the fame, and the senealogjf compktt^ ....

CHAP*

•■ • • ■ -t:

( 3o» )

CHAP. vm.

• ■ # _

Luke's Edition of tie Gsnei^ogiej.

^T^HE dificrences ariiiog from the two tegitUm
-^ have €9^1oyed &> many peDs» that even an abftniGt
of the opinion^, adopted by leveral authors^ would fll
a volume. The reader who defires to fee them, muifc
apply to their works, of which he may find a larg^
catalogue in Poole's Synopfis, or In Ba(rradiMs'j$ Com**
•mentary. Thofe who would take a curfory view cf
this fubjefi^ may derive.much fatisf^fiipn from a tn^
tife» of which the title is exprelTed in the note ^* '
The former Evangelift, it is commonly fsud, wrote
his gofpel for confirming the faith of the believing
Jews ; this fgr thp information of the converts ffom
paganilm ;. and. each conftruded his catalogue fuitablf
^o his dhimate de&gn ; the one tracing thrift's pedi*
gree front th^ father of the twelve tribes, the otbor

• La Genefihgu 4^ Je/us Cbrtft; avee demclement des J>^
tiiltes qui fs rencontrent dans edte Genealogh, par M. CuillariL
Leyd. 1683. See PilkingtOn's Notes on the Evangel. Hiftorf^
§ 14.; alfo Grotiusy South's SermonSi voLiii, Trapp, YanUef*
Scrrimaxi, abore (jupted,

from

302 Gen eaiocy.

from the firft progenitor of mankinds The final refult
is convidion» the method purfued diilimilar» but the
accounts not contradidory ; and the number (d^fpicr
rations, though unequal, yet exempt from the fufpicion
of fallacy. The Jews were in pofleflion of a regular
hifiory, from the time they became a diftin£k people ;
and, therefore, Matthew adopted tbe defcending feries
from their firft fettlement in Canaan, to the then pafling
age. But aft the Gentiles had no records of equal au-
thenticity, and no certain knowledge of the earlieft
times, Luke began with the mod recefAt p^ridd bf tn^
^ion, ktA thetice proceeded from Aa^ to Atige^ in The
mjcinding feries, to that point, beyond whieh the cbAH-
putatton by hiftorical years, akid by gehemtioiiSy canAdt
lit continued.

The rolls from Adam tq David agree ill thenaiMei
with no variation, but fuch as refults' from thf difierw
Mc^ ^f languages and diale6h. The numbtr too i» tht
fame, VIrith one fole exception, that of

j« The fecond Cainan.

Cit the authority of this £vangelifi,:fti^pDrtcd by
^t of the Greek Pentateuch, has the.exiftence of thii
^puijpus patriarch been generally believed in the Cfari(«
tian chuk-cfa, if6T(i the fourth to the now expiring cei|-
tury. So inveterate is this perfuafion, fo many and
pertinacious its advocates, that thofe who fufpe£t an in-
terpolation almolt incur the uncharitable fufpicion of
faerefy. After a brief hiflory of this .controverfy,
Shuckford exprefles bis convidion^ that the name ia

furreptitioust

LuKE*j Edition* 3p}

fiirreptlrlous. His declfion, with thercafons.for It^is
Tme tranrcril>ed9 as the ipofi jprob^ble, perfpicppus, ^

; ^c EusfiBius and Africanus, bathof tbein» befldes
od;ier writers, took their accounts of thofe times from
tbe LXX., and yet haye 1iq fuch perfon^ as Cainao^
among the poft-dilyvians* .«• They did not.^mit bis dyw^*'
liame from careleflhefsj for by the number of genera-*
lions and of years, which they compute from Shem to
Abraham, it is plain they knew of no other name thaa
they have given us ; therefore, 3. The ancioit copies
of the Septuagint, from which Africanus and Eufebiqs
lyrote^ h^d Qot the naniip of. Cainan *• 4.. This nama

. came

* This pofition is controvertible, if not falfe. More pro-
bd)le it is, that both thcfe fathers found thi* name in their -co-
pies of the Gr. Pentateuch, but, fufpedting it t6 beinterpolated^
would not naention it on authority fo very equfyotcM*4 .1^^ ^^i^-*
tainly was extant in that verfion, long before the Cbriftian era*
For Yardley, who contends that the name is genuine, quotes
the fame Eufebius, who has preferved a fragment of Aki. Corn*
Polyhiftor, 86 years before Chrift. The paflage was cbpicd by
Pplyhiftor, from Dem^tnus the MftoJ^an, who floorilhed 170
years before the Chriftiaa era^ and is to this effed : "Prom
Adam to the time when Jofeph's relations went rdown into
Egypt, are ^624 years.** Yardley remarks; " Prom which
fragment it plainly appears, i. That Demetrius follows the
phronology of the- LXX* *• That their chronology wa«, at
that tfme, (within about 70 years after this verfion was firfl:
xnade). the very lame that it now appears to be : and 3. That
Demetrius doth, and the LXX. interpreters then did, include
this fecond Cainan, and infert the years to him appertaining.
I^or without thefe vears^ the forefaid calculation will fall fhort

cxaflly

304. Genealogy.

came Into the Septuagint copies, through the careleff-
ne(s of fome tranfcriber, who from inattention inferted
an ante-diluvian name, (for fuch a perfon was before
the flood), among the poft-diluvianf, and having no
aumbers for his name, wrote the numbers belonging to
Salah twice over. 5. Other copies being tsdcen from
that erroneous one, the name of Cainan in.time camie
to be generally inferted. 6. St. Luke did not put
Cainan into his genealogy ; but, 7. Learned men find*-
kig it in the Septuagint, and not in this gofpel, fome
tranfcribers marked in the margin of their copies this
name, as thinking it an omilTran. 8. Later osiers and
editors, finding it thus in the margin, took it into the
textV*

From the poll-dlluvian genealogy this lecond Cgi*
lum is excluded by the Samaritan copy. Jolcphus was
extremely cautious of giving a fpurious patriarch a
p)ace in the Hebrew regifter, and, from this pfinciple^
would not admit Cainan as a fon of Arphaxad^ But^
after very Colemn protefiaOons of tranflatiflg from the
(iakcred records, he adopted the enormouily magnified
numbers of the Greek chronology, and, without hefi-»
tation, added to the age of about 15 hthi^xt^ at the
birth of th^ir fpecified fons, |oq years, ^nd thus eni*

exa^ly 130 years.** Genealogy, p, rig. Dr. "WTindcr affirm?!
that the amplified chronology of the Gr. Pent, was coevat
with the firft formation of that verfion, in the time of Ptolemy
iby the tranflators. Hift. of KnowL Part i. p. 440.
* (^onnex^ vol. i. p. 280.

Urged

L\j¥iE*s $iii/ifin» 305.

Wged the period from Adam to Abraham, about 15
centuries, and evinced his unEaithfuInefs as a tranflator.

The Tjirriters of the Samaritan copy, the tranflators
of the Greek verfion, and Jofephus, all impelled by a
partiality in favour of an incredible antiquity, to which
Mofesmade no claim, are inconfiflent with one another^
and with themfelves, in many notations of time. The
Hebrew Pentateuch, whence all the others were pro-
fefledly taken, either as tranfcripts, or verlions, agrees
in all its copies, as well thofe now ex,tant, as others of
which a^y fragments pr qiiota.tio.ns oc^ur ip hiftory^ In
computation it is an infallible axiom, that an original
deed, or which is equivalent, nuiperous copies of it,
taken at diver fe times, and all in perffs£l concord, with-
out the leaft variation of numbers, ar^ of preferable
credit tQ tjr^nflations, juftly fufpefted of wilful cor-
ruption, to gratify national pride.

With the Chriftian fathers the Greek verfion haJ
pbtained all the regard and authority, due to the vene-
rabfe original, with which many of them were but very
little acquainted. They propagated a malicious clamour
^gainft the Jews, 9S if they h^d, by general confent, ab-
breviatedl the primitive M<>l^ical ci^ronology, in order
to elude the predi£lions rplativp to the time of the
Mefliah's appearaqce, and to perple;^ computation.

Before the final overthrow of the temple a fraud
of this magnitude was imprafiicable, and fince the ge-
neral difperfion, phyfically impoflible. As if the
affirmative had been fully proved, with all the fpeciali-
^es of time, place^^ perfons, and circumftances, the da-

X mour

3o6 Gene alogy.

mour has of late been renewed by Whifton, JackfbiH
Kcnnicott ; an! laft of all by Dr. L. Geddes, who in
an Englifh vcrfion of the Pentateuch, inferts the fpu-
rious Cainan, and introduces into the xith chapter of
Genefis all the exaggerated numbers of the Alexandrian
interpreters, under the equally audacious and falie pre-.
tence of tranflating from a correft copy of the ori-
ginal ; and left he (bould incur the fufpicion of be-
lieving the divine authority of the facred text» (cruples
not to repeat his profefiions, that he does not fuppofe
Mofes to have written under the infiuehce of infpi-
ration.

Dr. Winder, in the paffage above quoted, fuggells a
very forcible reafon for the opinion, that the Hebrew
chronology was not abbreviated by thie Jews, but en-^
larged by t!ie firft Greek tranflators ; — ** becaule the
latter had a vifible end to be anfwered by it ; viz. that
of magnifying their antiquities according to the humour
of that age ; and when there was fcarce any danger of
deteftion : — greater, I fay, was the probability of cor*
rupting the Greek verfion, than of altering the Hebrew
text, at a time when it could anfwer no end, againft
either Chriftians or Pagans ; and when it would be
almoft impoflible to efcape the dete£lion of the Chrif-.
tian critics, who were now * as much concerned as
the Jews themfelves to fludy the Hebrews.

a. Harmottf

• NOW the author muft refer to the fecond century of the
Chriftian era, when Whifton wildly furmifca that the Jews
mutilated the chronology of their Pentateuch. As if tht faft

had

LUKE^ Edition.

307

^. Harmony 0/ the Genealogies from Arphaxad to Na^

than.

Not only in the two Evangelifls, but in the Septu-
agint verfion, the Samaritan copy, and jofephus, arc
the names of the defcendants from Shera, and the fum

of

had been fully proved by diredt hiftorical evidence, Jackfon
.and Kennicott revived the flanderous calumny againft the Jews
.of that age; and, in this paragraph. Winder vindicates them
from that afperfion, on the great improbability of the attempt,
and the certainty of detection. Whatever charafteriftical
blemiflies ftain the reputation of that infatuated, people, inva-
riably zealous they always were to prefervc the purity of their
tiered code. In this refpect they exadly refemble the pra<ftice
of the modern Romifti church, which has preferved inviolate
the original text ; but pronounced one of its ancient verfionS
equal in authority. Thus the Jews kept their records unvi-
tiated,but preferred -the lefs certain guidance of ori^l tradition;
and the JRomapifts, in a lefs remote period, followed their ex-
ample. Neither party fufpefted, that though they faithfully
performed the office of-DEPQsitARiEs, yet fhey kept in fafc
cuftody the fure evidences, that the one had grofsly corruptjed
Judaifm, the other Chriflianity : and both, like the wicked and
flothful fervaht, who hid his Lord^s talent in a napkin, are
judged put of their own mouths.

The author alludes to afi age, When it was the humour to
magnify the antiquity of nations. It firft prevailed in Egypt,
the very region where the .Greek verfion of the Pentateuch
was fabricated, and fubfequcnt to the time of Herodotus,
whom the national priefts had milled by exaggerated traditions
of a very remote origin, unfupported by hiftorical records.
Manetho and Eratofthenes in the fame century gave a frefli
im^^ulfe to the vanity of a credulous age ; and the Alexandrian

X % interpreters,

3c8 Genealogy.

of generations the fame, down to the nativity of Abra->
ham, Cainan excepted. Hence to the demife of David
the evangelical pedigrees agree v^Ith the Hebrew re-
cords, and with one another.

3. Variations from David to TLorohabiL

" That the difierence in the two pedigrees is owing
to the different methods in which they are deduced^
and not to want of truth in either, may be argued
on the following accounts. i. Becaufe the Jewt
allowed the main point, that Jefus was of David's
family ; fo that the Evangeliil had no need of inven-
tion or artifice to prove it. 2. Had they defigned to
faliify, they would have avoided all variation 9» much
as poflible, and delivered their account with the greateft
appearance of confiftency. So that their very variation
is a proof of their (implicity and freedom from any de-
fign of combination or impoflure. Thefe conCderations
are of greater weight to defend the integrity of tbe
Evangelifb, and our Lord's pedigree from David, than

interpreters, to proted the Jews from the fuppoled infiony of '
an upftart race, enlarged the genealogical niimbers of Mofe9»
in their new verfion, but AifTered the genuine notation', which
remain at this day, to continqe as they found theni. This
criticifm fuperfedes Shuc Word's fourth remark, that Cainan's
name was firft introduced by the negligence of a traDfcriber,
pofterior to the firft Tonnation of the Gr» Pent. For if the
numbers were then firft enlarged to falfify the chronology,
ncedlefs it is to conned with a lef* recent date the interpo-
lation of a fpurious patriarch, which fallacious artifice adds 130
years to tbe chronology of that period.

7 »»»

LUKeV Edition. • 30 J

the (iitFerence, obferved between them, can be to over-
throw it, even though we were not able to conjeflure
the reafoh of fuch difierence."

** But to come nearer to the point, we are not
without all conje3ure, what difTerent methods the
Evangelifts might ufe, in their dedu6lion of the pedi-
gfee, which might lead them into this variety ;** (nay
render it unavoidable) : '* fo that, though their accounts
are not perfedly the fame, yet both may be true, and
both confident : and, though we cannot demonftrate,
after all, that our account is certainly right, yet it is
enough for the part of a refpondent, that it may be fo,
for ought we know to the contrary. This effeflually
takes off the force of the obje^ion ; fo that nothing
can be conclu(ied againft us from the appearing variety.
Two fchemes principally have been offered for the re-
conciliation of this difficulty." ** The firft is that of
Julius Africanus, in the beginning of the third century,
and whofe notion, in this matter, is both flated and ap*
proved by Eufebiiis ;— that the two Evangelifts have
drawn out the pedigree of Jofeph, in two different
views,^ the natural and legal methodf."

" The fecorttl fchcme of reconciliation is, — that
Matthew has given us the pedigree of Jofeph, and Luke
that of Mary ; that fo, from both Evangelifts together,
we might have a double pedigree from David, the one
in the line by Solomon, the other by the line of
Nathan^/'

* Berriman'$ Sermons, vol.1, ferm. v. p, la;, &c.

3^0 G E :j E A LOG v.

This judicious writer fets forth the merits of either
fcheme, the obje£lions to each, with the anfwen» and
afHrms the propriety of both. In' an Analjfii^ a more
minute difcuflion is needlefs.

The generations in Matthew from David to Abiud,
excluding both^ as likewife Ahaziab> are S9, as before
flatcd, and the mean proportion of time cannot be
afcertained, becaufe the interval from the birth of Jc-
coniah to Abiud is not known. If Zorobabel witb
his father Salathiel be omitted, the defcents are 17, end-
ing with the year of Jehoiachin's captivity, A. Mi
3410* Let the year of Solomon's birth, in 2971, be the
fource of computation : then the lefs number, dedu6led
from the greater, leaves 428 ; and this fum, divided By
17, quotes 25 years two months for the coffimoil in^
tcrval.

In Luke's catalogue, from David to Neri, in A^ line •
of Nathan, are 20 generations. But it merits enquiry'
whether a deduflion be not admilTible. Irenasus, Afrt«
canus, Eufebius, Gregory Nazianzen, Jerom^ Auguftinf
and, on their authority, Grotius, with feveral other
niodcrn critics, rej eft Levi and Matthat *• . Some of
thofe fathers it feems furmifed, that 72 new langi^age»
were framed at the confufion of tongues, and that this
number was equal to the generations from Adam ta
Chrift. This is a fanciful aflbciation^ It is hoyrever
faid, that thay, on this notion, expunged from the le^
gifter Levi and Matthat, together with Cainan. 'A

** Luke, iii. 24.

mucb

LUKE*J EditioiK 311

Vntich better reafpn occurs. Fully were they perfuaded,
that none of all the three names had a place in the
Evangelift's autograph, or in its earlicft tranfcripts. In
the days of Irenaeus all three began to appear. He
and others rejeBed them as fpurious. But as it was, in
that age, a vplgar prejudice, that the new tongueS), which
originated from Babel, and tt>e progenitors of Jefus
Chrift, were equal in number, thofij who did not affent
to this notion, might by that mode of reafoning, called
urgumentum ad hominemy declare . their dijjent from the
reception of Cainan, Levi, and Matthat, into the lift,
Cainan belongs to a former clafs,, and is already repro-
bated. But Neri, as the laft of this feries, may, by a
former rule, be left out: and thus the generations in
private life, are, for the fame period, equal to thofe in
the royal calendar from David, that is, 17 defcents in
428 years.

4. Variathm from Zorobabel to Jofeph and Mary*

In this, as in the foregoing feflion, the names arc
entirely different ; but the fubjeft of difcuffion is the
variation of generations, with refpefl: tb number, in the
fame period of time.

Matthew's regifter exhibits 12 generations from
Jeconiah to Jacob, the father of Jofeph. * From the
hiftorical year of the incarnation, A. M. 4004 *, de-
du£l the year of Jeconiah's birth, 3392, the difference is

612. This fum divided by 12, tlie common quantity

» >

* The number is properly exprefled, for Ufher gives 4000,
the vulgai* reckoning 4008. The hiftofkral year Is 4004.

X4 of

312 Genealogy.

.of a generaittoin is^ priecifely 51. This Qiediate fpace
exceeds the defcents fnmi kings; th6c^h|ih riie former
feriea by l^ingf and private f^ilie^ the pioporticm was
equality. ,'..».

In the roll by Luke^ fn«n JccoiTiali> to Heli, the
yf^jui vi555J^of Mary, arb 21 generatimis ; by' which fum
divide 6 12, the ^iBNtan proportion 19^99.- Sometimes
one life is the double ^of two in co^^ifience* and fuc-
ceffion ; fomethnes tw9 generation^ Jire-e^iiri to three
m a feries. The dlffefenee-heie i^ v^eliy <icHtffideitible4

j: • --JC . I
' C < 4 J I -

J(;-" ■'•

^ It is no wonder, or any rca(bnable obieaion,
that variation, or Teeming iiiconfiftenc^, ^9f^!^ he
in the account of our Lord's genealogy, by the two
Evangelifts. Thofe, who are acquainted with the cuf-
torps bf.the Jew$ know, that many genealogies . feem
repugnant, and arc iiot ^. That may happen various
ways, as may eafily be proved from feyeral books, which
the Jews and we jointly acknowledge. Befides, feveral
are the methods of reconciling thefe difficulties,, though
it is fometimes hard to fay wt^ich is the^beft,. at the
diftance of fo many ages ; all .memory, and even records
of thefe things, being lUteriy loft.** * Were the par-
ticular difficulties more and greater than they are, one
general anfwer would be fufficient. Had this genea-
log)', as drawn by the two Evangelifts, been falfe or
inconfiftent^ in any one inllance, the Jews, who were

thea

hV¥iE*s Editioru 313

then livingv when the gofpels were publiflied, could nuc
but know it ii'iKndil)eing mortal enemies to Chriftianity,
could notr but esqpqfe itlo all the world : and this mull
have utterly ruined the credit of both thefe gofpelsj
which* ive)km>vtvi$ not thccafe^*.**

&£tw&£N Mofes.and the ELvarigeliAs is a ftriklng
fimilarity of.ojanner in their common charafler, as hiC-
tortograpbers. He wrote fuch ft range accounts of ftrange
things, as wei^; not likely to obtain credit, the produc-
tion of a univerfe from nothing* the deftruSion of the
whole earth by a deluge, with the exception of a fmali
flock, for the reftoration of mankind, and animals of
every fpecies. They reported the birth of a fon by a
virgin mother, and the redemption of mankind by his
death on a crofs, which do6lrine fome accounted fool-
inmefs, and was to others a ftumbling block. Neither
he nor th>y betrayed the leaft fufpicion that they might
incur the cenfure of colleSing and tranfmitting a mafs
oT'abrurd pataSoxes, impoflibilities, contradifiions. No
apology they oflFered for the feeraingly incredible
things tliey recommended to the belief of the world ;
no anxiety did they difcover about confequences, with
refpeft to themfelvcs \ yet with an ardour of charity
and zeal, with all the powers of perfuafion, did they
befeech, implore, and intreatj thofe to whom they were
fent, to confult their own moft important interefls.
Here is every criterion of knowledge and veracity, of

. ' 't

' *.* ' ■

* Tiapjj's Notes on Matt. :. i— 13.

^ fgfcir

314. Gekealogy.

a fober mind, and of fupcriority to popular opihiotlft
Thcfe Evangclifts did not mean to contradif): ont
another ; each had a diftin£l part of the fame fubjefi ;
and both, [Maiihcw and Luke], it muft be prefumed^
executed their defign "with all the precifioni required
in faithful hiftorians *,

♦ The Jews, in common with the Chriftians, hold> that the
Mefliah was to proceed from David ; and what objeilion was
more pertinent than this, that though the apoftles did preach
the natural defcent of Jcfus from David, yet as he had no
earthly father, they did not ^ve a true and regular genealogy
from David to Mary. This objection would have been much
more forcible, than thofe many trifling cavils, which the mo*-
dern Jews have brought, or their forefathers had alleged
agsinft the truth of the gofpel. To obviate this objection,
aitcr JNIatthew had given the natural defcent of Jofcph from
Abraham ; the Holy Spirit directed the pen of Luke to record
the genealogy of Hcli, the father of Mary, the mother of Je«-
fus, from David, the king, from Abraham, the father of the
Hebrews, and from Adam, the father of all mankind. Sec
Yardley on the Genealogies, page 353, &c.

APPENDIX.

( 3»5 )

ifmmmmmmmmmimmmwmmmmmmmmmmmmmmtmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmtmmmmmmmmmm mmmtmm^ii'm

APPENDIX.

Stridures on Sir Ifaac Newton^ s Chronology.
Introduction.

■
• • • * •

THI$ prodigy of genius, while exploring the laws
of nature, devoted occafionally a vacant hour to
the hiftory of time, with the meafures of which he was
well acquainted ; and in fuch refearches, intricate as is
the fubjefl, found relief from the fatigue of inveftigating
thofe general principles, which pervade the ftill more
complex mechanifm of the univerfe.

"He bound the fun
And planets to their fpheres ! th' unequal talk
Of human kind till then. Oft had they roll'd
O'er erring man the year, and oft dlfgrac'd
The pride of fchools, before their courfe was known
Full in its caufes and efFefts to him.
All piercing fage! who fat not down and dream*d '
Romantic fchemes, defended by the din
Of fpecious words and tyranny of names ;
But, bidding his amazed mind attend,

And

3i6 Sir I. Newton'/ Chronots^.

And with heroick patience years on years
Dcep-fcarching, faw at Lfl the fyflem dawn
And (hinc of all his race» on him alone.
The noifelers tide of //W, all bearing down
To vaft eternity's unbounded fca,
Wljcrc the green iflands of the happy (hinc.
He fhcmm'd alone; and to tht fource (iiivolv'd
Deep in primeval gloom) afcending rais'd
His lights at equal diftances^ to guide
Hifiorian, wilder'd on his darkfome way.**

. This elegant encomium* is, with one exception,
jufi. Even the vaft, capacious miiid of Newton did
^lot afcend to \\lz Jourcc of //W, but left it invohed in
deep primeval gloom. From the vulgar year pf the na*
tivity, as erroneoufly defined by Uflier, A. P. J. 4709,
(which is the true hiftorical dare), he purfues his re-
fearches, in the retrograde outer, to the days of Eli^
where he flates the firfl fynchrouifm of the Egyptian
hiftory with that of tlic Hebrews.

Much is it regretted, that he did not extend the
line of invefiigatioa through the patriarchal ageS| by
the notations of an infiiHible chronology, (which hap-
pily combines genealogy with history), back to
the origin of things, — that point in ipeafitfed time
where genuine hiflory begins, and beyond which chro-
nology can go no farther. Not fufpe^ing deceptioft
or error in the lucubrations of a metropolitan^ who was

f Tbomfun't loein to tbc Memory of Sir.Uaac Kewtoiv

Introduction. .317

tlie ornament of his age, and had excelled all his prc-
deceflbrs in the fingular art of HISTORICAL AR-
EANG£M£NT> Sir Ifaac {loptihoxt^^and excluded from
his fyftem the chronology of a8 centuries.

In Sir John Mar (ham's Chronological Canon, this
sidventurous reformer of anciei^t computations fipund a
rich mine of mixed ore, gold, filver, brafs, ifoir^ and
clay ; all in one mafi^ y waiting the, refiner's fluii, and
the operations of the furnace. Hence he derived an
immenfe variety of materials, fufeeptible of a better
arrangement, and a more perfeft form. The refult of
a minute examination was a full cohvidion, that' the
antiquities of the Gentiles had teen amplified by fifliofn,
difguifed under the mafk of allcgdryj and derived belief
from the credulity of an ignorant world.

The Chro>jology of andtnt KifiG)boMS ameful^
edy was not an attempt rafhly projeflfed, ^r its ingre-
dients precipitately thrown together. About five
months before the author's death he had an ifiierview
with Dr. Pearce, late hi (hop of Rotrhefter, whoni he
informed, **^ That he had fpent thirty years, at intervafls^
in reading over all the authors, or parts of authors,'
which c0uld furrtifli any materials, for forming a
juft account of the Ancient Chronology ; — that he had,
in his readings made collections from thofe authors^
and had, at the end of 30 years, compofed from, thence
.HIS Chronology of ancient Kingdoms ;-^and that he
had written it over feveral times, (it appeared aft^iv
wards, the hi (hop, thought 16 times), making a few
alterations in it, but what were for the fake of fliort-

ening

3l8 Sir I. Newton'x Chronology.

cning it (as the bi(hop gathered from his difcourfejt
and leaving out, in every later copy, fome of the au-
thorities and references, on which he had grounded his
opinions.'*

As this elaborate work was begun in the vigour of
his faculties, fo it was the fubjeft of his thoughts, and
the cxercife of his hand, in the laft period of his lifc^
«* A few days before he died, Dr. Peanre made him a
vifit at Keniington, and dined with him. He found
him writing over his Chronology of ancient Kingdoms^
without the help of fpedacles, at the greateft diflance
in the room from the windows, and with a parcel of
books on the table cafling a (hade upcm the paper.
Seeing this, on my entering the room, (faid the dofior}*
** Sir, you feem to be wrking in a place where you can-
not well fee/' His anfwer was, ** Little light Cerves me/'
He then told me, that he was preparing his Chronology
for the prefs, and that he had written <he greateit part
of it for that purpofe ♦.**

With many difadvantages, the almoft unavoidable
fate of pofthumous works, this laft and leaft perfeS
produ3ion of the venerable Sir Ifaac Newtoo, was
ufhered into the world t. His work, as it isj has fo

great

• Bifliop Pearce's Life, prefixed to his Cotnmftntary on thfc
Gofpcls, &c. p. 42 — 44.

+ Buchanan's Hiftory, without the benefit of Ims laft reviial,
appeared about three weeks before his death, and he had the
fnortification to be told, that the printer had committed many
egregious miftakes. Maclaurin dying with the pen in his
•hand, before he had finiflicd his Account «/* Sir Isaac

Newtom'8

Introduction. 319

great merit, that, with all its faults, no one publication
on the fubjeft contains fo many valuable improvemeots,
Perfeflion is a chara3er incompatible with the moft
finifhed produ3ions of human genius. Its principles
new, bold, and rather deep than dark, amazed the illite*
terate, and puzzled the learned, Scarcely could it bo
expelled, that even the moft accurate practitioners, in
the computation of times, would inftantly renounce
the authority of hoary tradition, abjure tenets eftabiifli*
ed by immemorial belief^ and become profelytes .to a
fyftem,- incongruous with thb prejudices of education,
and conftitutional habits of thinking*

The Chrenbkgy of ancient Kingdoms amended^ having
divided the opinions of the be ft judges, experienced a
kind of ambiguous reception* Its fate was neither
that of many fungous produdions ; — a premature death
in infancy ;-*-the laft, and not leaft fevere, culrfe of un-
fuccefsful authorftilp : nor fummary reprobation on the
fcore of literary impofture. In the very year of its
publication; 1728, Bedford fent forth his Animad-
versions, and Whifton kis Confutation. Thefe
luminaries of their day elucidated feveral obfcure parts
of an abftrufe fubjeS. In their diftinft perform-
ances are obvious (ignatures of erudition, acutenefs, and
candour, without credulity, adulation, farcafm, and illi-

Newton's Pbilqfopbieal Difcoveries^ this work concludes with
three aiterics, to denote imperfedion. With a fimilar &jt4ity
was his own Chronology exhibited to the public ;— a part not
copied by the author, and the whole fent forth in the condition
of a dcfencclcfs orphan. '

beral

J 2 o Sir I . N F. w TO N '/ G^nno^c^y,

hcral abufc. With the progrcfs of time, Sir Ifaac
Ncwton*s antagonifls multiplied.

So earlv as 1770, Shuckford in the Preface to his
third volume of Hiilorical Connexions* revived and
flrengthened the objection of the two authors^ now
mentioned, to Sir Ifaac's AJlrmomical Argttmeni^ for
bringing the dale of the Arg9nautic Expedition three
renturies lower than it had been fettled by the Old
Chronology \ and, it muil be confefled, left the great
author's poftulate and conclufion, under all the difad*
vantages (with refpe£l to credibilit)')^ of Icientifical
conje£lure.

ScUJiRt:, in \{\% Defence of the Ancient Greek Chro^
tuoUgyy i74i» repeated tlie tmpulfe on tlie mind of the
public, and ftruck a deeper imprelTion. It is there
affirmed, that Chiron was no prafiical aftronomer ;-—
that he had not fufiicient knowledge to mark out and
diftinguifh the conftcUations in the zodiac from tho(e
in the other parts of the heavens ; — that though his
Ikill had been equal to the conftruflioa of an exad
fpherc, and for afligning to the equino£)ial and folftitial
points their /r^^r places; yet fuch a fpherc could not
be of the leaft ufe to the Argonauts^ in their £bort
voyage from Theffaly to Colchis.

Costard, in his Letter to Sir Martin Folkes, oa '
the Rife and Progrefs of Astronomy among the
Ancients, 1746, obliquely, yet with becoming decorum,
reprehends this Ajironomical Argument^ while he refpeft*
fully conceals the author's name. *^ Some perfons, too
great to be mentioned without reverence, fuppofe, that

he

I N t R O D U C t I O N. 3^1

he [Chiran] fdhticd. the donfteHations for the ufe of the
ATgonatfts. If, as it ftfettisf, be inieant i^I thofe tnen-*
tioricd in ttte fphertfof Eafl^xiisi k ifir^More^I afti afraid^
Hran traii wiil be^alfowdi; ' Thit fee >igbt bfe' aft OB-
SERVE ft, lii'd^^d^ U hotifn{)r6babk;betng cbrftempopary
With ilifiife yA\o Were Yo :"— Palatrl^iV'AftraBUJ, Nau-
pliiriy Atlas, &d. Defofe faehtiorieS.
' T^hS faft; but hot tlie kaft fuccifsfur,-oppoherit td
feirlfaac s pbfition«,'coi^CCTning the Gfeek Chronology^ il
Dr. Mufgrave in his Examination of the Objcc-
lions toi^he Chronology of the OLYRtPlADSj in 1772:
ko iA\ Which atithors the inquifitive and learned reader
is rrfdfreq, for niofe ample iriforinaHon;

Some principles in. this vtty refpeflable philofo-
|jrhei**s laft, though leaift perffeft workj at variance with
thofe of a late right reverend divine> arse combated, in
the third volume of his Divide Legation, ftom p. 242
to 342j wlfih lefs delicacy than zeal. Warburton was
tiot a match for'fJewtdn in thofe parts of literature
tonnefted with the arts of calculation^ but by an in-^*
lierent vigour of genius^ brought difcrcdit on foitie of
that illuftriou^ ' ainhor^s conclufiorts^- ill his book of
Ohronologicafl Em'ehdation^i Hooke, in the intro-
duftiori to his Kpm^ft Hijloty^ iioiertakes a vindication
df Sir Ifaac's afrrangemcnts from th6 oiycQions of his
feveral opponent»i and after makii^ feveral conceflions,
ipartlcukrly th^ juniority of Rbme ttIHi refpeft to
Carthage, . concludcji in fevour of the reformed chro*
iiology.

' Y ' SlK

322 Sir I. NEWTON'i ChrMolcfgy.

Sir Ifaac Newton's amazing difcovcries in the ap-
plication of geometry and experimental philofopby to
the fyftem of nature, his ingenious Theory of Light
and Colours, his Improvements in Univerlal Arith-
metic, not to mention his very probable claim to the
Invention of Fluxions, had, in his lifetime, procured
him univerfal eftimation, as the model of fcientifical
perre6lion ^ and he was almoft the Ongular example of
genius having furmountcd envy before death. But
with (low caution, and not without numerous abate*
men ts and mortifying refervations, have the merits of
his two laft publications, Objirvations upon the Prophecies^
and The Chronology of ancient Kingdoms^ both pofthu-
mous, been admitted ; though he had the felicity not
only to improve, but adorn, every fubjedl, to which he
applied his maAerly talents. * ■.

In each of thefe performances candid- criticifm muft
allow certain objeflions, dated by feveral leacrned men,
to remain, either in part, or in their full force. But .
this conceflion does not divell that great man of the
honours unqueflionably due to him, on account of hit
happy elucidation of the prophetical ilile ; and of hit
conne£ling a train of particular predi£lions, with the
continuous feries of genuine hillory \ — neither of many
important difcoveries, the refult of afironomy, chrono-
nology, and genealogy, applied with exquifite fkill, and
wonderful harnaony of co-operation and effe£l, to the
hiftory of the £ARLY ages. ImperfeQion isinfepa*
rab!e from even the moft elaborate produ£lions of hu*

man

iNTRODOtTIOl}. 323

ttiaii geriius. When the intricacy of the fubjeft is
confidered, the overfights here are few and excufable *.
In framing the prefixed Analysis, feveral inftances
of defe£l in the plan, and of improper difpofition in
the order of the Newtonian Chronology have^ oc-
curred. Thefe, not altogether excluding chara&ers of
impcrfeQion or excellence, obferved by other writerf"
on the fubjeS, are the ground- work of this Appendix,
which is, for this reafon, divided into two parts.

^ " T have one general remark to make on Sir Ifaac^s book;
that he tinds fault with the earlier part of the Grecian hiftory
for having no chronology j and yet fuppofes, that when chro-
nology, that is, technical chronology, was introduced by Ti«
niaeus and others, the only ufe made of it was to falfify their
hiftory. This makes it neceflary to explain, in a few words,
my notion what chronology is, and what it is not. 'I fay then,
that tlie genealogy of a particular family; a feries of k4ngs or
ptiefteffts, a liO: of archons, or the pe<;orc|8 of a piib^iq folem-
nity, like the Olympic games ; none of thefe are chronology.
But chronology ia that fcience, which compares thofe lifts, ge-
nealogies, and records together, and adjufts them to one ano-
ther, niaking, if p^flible, one confiftent whole.' This is a work
that requires, no do^b^,rth& i^and of a mafter,-and it requires
alfo an unprejudiced- rpimiv For if the chronologer has any
favourite point to eflabliibs.ify for inftance, he be delirous of
extending or contracting any particular period, he wiU be
tempted to mutilate or ftrctch them out, as may beft ferve his
purpofe. The want of chronology with which Sir Ifaac re-
proaches the Greeks, is a circumftance, which in another point
of view may be confidered as ftrongly fupporting their credit."
— Mufgrave, p. aa4*

Ya CHAP.

( 3*4 )

mm*mmmm^^aiim0*tm*'f**mmmm^mmii^^^tamihmi^titf^tmimftt»mttti

CHAP. J.

t * 1

Sir Isaac Newton V Chronology.

IN <:omputuig tim£s> Dodwell aOumes, as funda*
mcQtaly a reafooable poftulate, *' The Chronologer
muft proaeed from known to Icfs certain periods ^Z'
The primary term in computarion, depending, as fug-
gelled in the fubjoined note» on the quantity of mea^
fured time, from ^he firfi to the fecond Adam, and de-
fined in the record^, whkh Jews and Chriftians acknow*
}edge to be of divine authority, merits the higheft

* A certiOFiliiiB ti^mporibue ad ineertiora progrediendum*
DlJJerfatlaHis de Gfaeorum Romanotumque Cfclis. The times
with which the New Teftameift \Afltirj begins are no lefs
known fi^m authentic reoords,' than thcrfe of the fubfequent
ages. Kennedy reverfes the poftulate, << Tempera quo anti-
qniora, eo certiora. This pofition is applicable to that period
alone, with which the Old-Tcftftmelit hlftory begins. The
great difiicultyi which has not hei«tofbre been fiirmoimted, is
by cofnparing with itfelf, by the aki of borrowed light, the
facred hillory, Ibr the inte#m«d2alef(>aGeliximthe Creatioii
to the Christian Era. .To fix the aftronomieal years, fo at
not to count incomplete for full, or to midtiply their number
by counting full years twice, has been attempted in the Intro-
AuMion to the foregoing Jnaljjj.

degree

Defects !n the Plan. 335

*diegrc€ of credit, becaufe the vouchers, whence it is
afcertained, are, of all other^^ the beft attefted, and tlie
terra, as in them, fixed moll confonant with natural
phenomena, the late origin of the moft ancient civil
eftablifliments and national recofds, the flow progrefs,
9nd continual improvements in arts, &c. Suppofe this
term uncertain, and thefe vouchers counterfeit, curious
and Ikilful enquirers into the origin of historical
TIME are left in perplexity to determine whether the
'Mofaical chronology, or that of the Chaldees, Chinefe,
Egyptians, Geotoos, &c. merits the preference.
-. Every well informed and impartial enquirer muft
')admit, that the Hebrew records, infpiration apart, are
-recommended by internal chara<3ers of confiftency, me-
thod, order, ai}d truth \ not to be found in the annals
jof nations, who pretended a prior origin to the He--
brewrs, but were certainly much more recent. No
alphabetical compofitionj on any fubjeft, in the primi-
mitive language of Egypt, is mentioned in any old
hifloriap, even by its title, or a detached fragment.
The Coptic alphabet is demonftratively, if not con-
feifedly, modern. Manetho's Dynafties, originally tha
refult of fi£lion and forgery, never had the loweft claim
to credibility : and fo much are they disfigured by
deliberate changes of names, order, numben, enlarged,
omitted, mutilated, or tranfpofed, that no guefs can be
inade concerning their primitive contents or form. The
Bible exhibiting eve^ criterion of plan, method, and
tendency to* an ultimate end, is properly the fabje& of
fair criticifm^ and never, lofes credibility, but always

Y 3 acquires

326 Sir I. Newton'j Chronology,

acquires confillence, certainty, and every infallible cha*
rader of truth, from thofe modes of trial, and tefls of
authenticity, vrhich never fail to dete£l the fabrications
of impofiure.

Sir Ifkac Newton, having built his Chronology on
a foundation already laid, the Annals of Archbifhop
Uflier, v^hich had, before his time, obtained a general .
reception, went no farther back than the days of Elip
a8 full centuries fubfequent to the Mofaical creation.
But, as he did not avow his approbation of the received
fyfiem, . nobody knows, though it cannot reafonably be
prefumed, whether he did tacitly adopt the amplified
antiquities of the Gentiles. The very firft fentencc of
his work removes all fuch fufpicion : ^^ All nations, ber
fore they began to keep exa£l accounts of time, have
been prone to raife their antiquities; and this humour
has been promoted between nations about their pri?
ginals."

Farther, the Chronology of the Hebrew Penta-
teuch is, in many indances, different from that of the
Samaritan copy, of the Greek verfion, and of Jofephus.
In feveral copies thefe di(lin£l authorities contradiCl
one another, and all deviate from the original, which in
all its tranfcripts, the Samaritan excepted, exhibits every
where the fame notations of number within the ex*
preffed period. Here are two reafons of preference,
originality, and felf confiflence. Tranfcripts and ver-
fions are tried by their antitypes, as the fupreme fland- *
ard. Conformity is reftitude, and deviation the crea-
ture of error or unfaithfidnefs. Well known are the

?gents.

Defects in the Plan. 327

agents, the times, and the probable caufes of variation
from the numbers of the venerable original, which none
of the fcribes or tranflators had the efiFrontery to cor-
rupt. As they found, they left it — unvitiated by en-
largement, mutilation, or change ; and kept in cuftody
the precious depofltum, iwhich eventually detefied their
bfeacb of fidelity, as copiers or tranflators.

The impulfive caufe of amplifying the. true Mo-
faical computation was to refcue the nation of the He-
brews from the fuppofed ignominy of a recent origin,
in compliance with the prevalent vanity of the Gentiles
from the days of Herodotus to thofe of Jofephus. It
has been alleged that the Jews of the fecond century
firft abbreviated their chronology. This conjeQure has
already been obviated, by (hewing the impofTibility of
fiich a fraud from the time of Mofes to the Chriftian
cxa ; greater ftlll was the difficulty of executing fuch a
projeftj^at a later period ; for the Chriftians of the firft
century had got in poiTeflion the genuine oracles of
infpiration.

This illuftrious reformer of ancient chronology,
taking his rife frpm the times of the later judges in
Ifrael, has left it doubtful what edition of the Heb. Pen-
tateuch he approved, whether the original text, or its
tranfcripts and verfions, as ths model of true chrono-
logy. The numbers marked in the Short Chronicle.
exprefs the years before the Chriftian era, as hxed by
Uflier. Where he is erroneous, and Sir Ifaac's arrange-
ments did not require a diSerent date, he erred with his
mafter ; whence it is prefumed, that his prime fource

Y4 of

3 28 «?/V I. N E w T o N ■ i Chronology.

df computation 13 the number of the Julian' Pi^iod
4710.

WeKe this computation accurate^ which it is tiot^
Uflier antedates the difperfion by a term of ycar«, which
afile£)s the credibility of MoTes in .his hiftofical charac-
ter, if the ftaie of arts and population, at the cloie of
the firft century after the flood, be maturely confidcred*^
The interval, compreffed within top narrow Hmits, vio-
lates phyfical probability. Mofes affirms, that, '' ia
the days bf Pcleg was the earth divided." Uflher, after
Jofephus, refers that partition to the very year of that
patriarch's bitth* But iht facred hi^rian's words may
feirly be flippofed applicable to dny year qf Peleg's lifc^'
whofe age at death was 239 ; or to any year before tine
birth of Haran, (a brother of Abram), of lyhpm it i^
recorded that he died in the land of his nativity. Thi$
notation of time prcfappofes the divifion qf the ear^h.-
Who fo well qualified to reftify this obvious p^ochro-
nifm as the renowned Sii^ Ifaac Npwton,. whofe powers
of computation feem to have been intuitive ? Thi^
point, the time of the general difperfion, would have
dpened to his view momentous difcoveries, refpefling
the plantation of the firft colonies, and the rife of tho
ihoft ancieAt kingdoms. It would likewife hav^ prfe-
vented the confufion, which, fince his death, perplexes
this fubjeft, and i^ likely not to be fodn removed. The
authors of the Anctertt Vniverfal Hijlory^ puzeled with
the difficulties attending this perfod of the facred chro-
nology, drtd incapable of difpelling the darknef^ induced
by the frivolous and fetlfe arrangements ol ioexpert

7 chronologer^

Defects in the Plattf ft^

riironologeTS and commentators, preferred th^ compU'?
Rations of the Samaritan copy,' as more expaikled thai|
^bpfe of the Hebrew, and lefs extravagant than tboib
pf thp Greek verfion. Nor has the Ilcentioufnefs of
innovation ftopt here. Whifton, Hay, Jackfon, and
JKennidQt.^, having revived the credit of the once ex-
ploded Septuagint, it is pow the fupreme and exclufive
pbronological dire£iory } fot one Geddet;, in compliance
with general opinion, has lately introduced into the
Englifll Pentateuch, fhe genealogical numbers in Gen.
xi. from the Alexandrian interpreters, under the falfii
pre.terice of tranflating from the Hebrew.

Evj£N among thpf« Chriftian writers, who adhere to
^he Hebrew coippuu^ion^ great is the difcord of opi-
nions,, concerning the firft point in time, which era
^trauchius pronounces the gordian knot in chronologj'^
never to be untwjfled by the ingenuity of man. Peta-
vius, Wallis, and others, have been fo bold as to affirm,
that abfolute certainty in this matter is not attainable,
but by divine revelation.

Unreasonable it is to expe£l an immediate
communication of fupernatural light, to confirm the
difcoveries of the written word. . If this point be not
there revealed, it may fafely be avoided, as one of thofe
foolifli and unlearned queftions, which minifter flrifes,
rather than promote edification. David Paraeus, as
quoted by Ulher, pronotinced thofe (who promifed an
exa6l afironomical table of time, from the firft point cf
the creation ; unto Chrift) more worthy of encourage-^
jnent than praife', in that they attempted a thing above

human

33© Sir I. Newton'j Ckronohgy.

human capacity. Paraeus was tlten among the lateft
writers, who took upon him to number the years, even
to Chrifl's time, out of the hofy fcriptures ; he, there-
fore, leaving the aftronomica), betook himfelf to the
politic time of the Hebrews, &c. In this bufinefs,
Ufher thought it an indifferent matter; what rule were
applied to the meafuring of time, fo it were known,
and terminated with a certain number of days. If any
one could by fome equal meafure of years define the
diflance between the foundation of the world, and
Chrift's time ; it were alfo moil eafy, without the help
of adronomical tables, to fet down how many equinoxes
in number did happen, during that interval ; and the
noted revolution from one equinox to the fame point
again, what is it but a year, natural and truly aflrono-
tnical ? But, if any one well feen in the knowledge,
not only of facred and exotic hiftory, but of aftrono.
• mical calculation, and the old Hebrew calendar, (hall
apply himfelf to thefe ftudies, he judges it indeed diffi-
cult, but not impoflible to attain, not only the number
of years, but even of days, from the creation of the
world *.

These expedients the very learned and judicious
primate adopted, but, like Phaeton, without, fuccefs:

In great attempts 'tis glorious e'en to fall.

To give a fmall epitome of the various opinions held by
the bell afironomers on this fubje£l, Strauchius inferts

*- Uflitr'-s Preface to his Annals,

half

' Defects in the Plan* 331

half a hundred. Of thefe a few are here felefled,
>!rhich fix the creation to a date later than the feventb
^Qntuty of the Julian Period,

Yrs. M

Jacobus Capellus 708
John Wichman 709
U(herandSimpfon7io
Dion. Petavius 730
Philip Melanfton 750
Scaliger, Calvi-

fius, &c. 764

Chriftianus Sco-

tanus ^ 765

3
3
9
9

Yrs, M.

Joannes Micro-

elius - 766 10
Matthaeus Bero-

aldus - 786 9
Jewilh vulgar date 953 9

*

David Gantz 954 a
Jewifli lefler Chro-
nicle * 1044 8

Tnp Jewifh vulgar computation abridge^ the chro-
nology of their pwn annals by about 250 year^. This
miilake arofe not from any deliberate or malicious de-
fign to corrupt their records, as many of the Chriftian
fathers, Whifton, and his fujlowcrs, moft uncharitably
aflBrm ; for to preferve their records entire and pure,
they have, in all ages, exemplified a laudable zeal ; — but
from a fatal ignorance in chronology and hiftory, Mif-
underftandlng the true Mofaical computation, they refer
the birth of Abraham to the 70th, and not the 130th,
of Terah, its true date. Thus are 60 ^ears retrenched
from the age of the world. Again taking Longimanus,
Mnemon, and Ochus, for one and the fame Artaxerxes,
Not bus and Codomannus for one and the fame Darius,
^hey reduce the duration of the Perfian empire from
^04. to 48 years. In other inilances they betray

equally

jjt Sir I. Newton'/ Chronohry,

equally ftriking proofs of ignorance in their own chro-
nology, and in the hiflory of the Gentile monarchies.
Thefe fpecimens alone eftablifh the imputation of in-
accuracy, from ignorance, not deflgn.

" As long ai they [tjic Jews] continued in the eaft>
they continued in the eaftern ufage of computation by
the era of contra£ls, as they called that of the Seleij-
cidae; but when, about the year of our Lord 1040,
iTiey were driven out of the eafj, and forced to remain
in thefe weftern parts, and here fettled in Spain, France,
England and Germany, they learned from fomc of the
Chriftian chronologers of thefe countries to conqpute
by the years from the creation. The firft year of this
era, according to their reckoning, falls in the year of
the Julian Period 953, and takes its beginning from
the autumnal equinox in that year. But the true year
of the creation, according to Scaiigcr's computation,
was 189 years, and according to others, 249 y^ays
higher up than where this era of the Jews placeth
it ♦."

This very judicious critic and hiftorian remarks,
" That the era from the creation is of very common
4jfe in chronology ; but this on account of its uncer*-
tainty he has rejeded, moft chronologers fcJlowing
, -different opinions, fome reckoning the time fooner,
fome later, and fcarce any two agreeing in the fame
vcart.'*

m

• Prid. Conncx. Parti, p.' 426, fdi.
f Prid. Pix'f. page til.

Or

Defects in the Piatt. ' 333

O^ the pagan writers Ibnie tnaintaiaGdl the eternity
of the world, others affirmed, that it had a beginniag ;
but all of this clafs proFefTed their ignorance of the
tiizie. ** If,** iays Cenfortnus, ** the origin bf the
univerfe were known, I %ouId thence begin to reckon^
Whether time had a 'firftfdurce, or alwraysibd exalt;
the isumber of its years cannot be defined •*.**' iPiolarajy
the aftronoraer aflerts, " That the epoch orf tinrie lies
beyond the limits of human knowledge +:**• and Jjd.
Firmious Maternus cerifures the raflirleft of thofe wh«
pretend certainty in a matter fo impenetrably dark ^, ^

It has been (hewn, that the Jewsi had no (kill • to
conned the genealogical numbei(s of Mofesf, on which
the chronology of the firft aces is conftruded, or to
aipply to their own hiftory the reigns of the Perfian
ttionafcfas: — that they erred from ignorance; — ^and
OMght to be acquitted from fhe calumrty of wilfully
corrupting .their record** . In like manner ba5 it been
^Cfvinced, that of aU-the Chriflian chronolqgers, few
ibav^ afcertained, to the fatisfadion of the public, tlie
precife quantity of the interval ftom Adam to our
:cra.

• Here was a fubjeQ worthy the decifion of Sir Ifai^
Newton ; — a fubjeft of doubt and perplexity^ to the
elucidation of which his penetrating, extenfive, and
vigorous faculties, were much more than commenlurate.
He either adopted implicitly the erroneous f heme of

• Dc Die Nal. c. ao, 11. f Gr. Syntaxis, lib. iii. ,

X Mathe$» I iii. c. 2.

Uftier's

33+ Sir I. Newton ^i Chtondlogy.

Uflicr's Annals, or perceived the fallacy, and thought it
obvious to all the world. '

. That very accurate calculator, the late Mr. James
f iergufon, acknowledges, " That he had ftudied chronp*
nology but very little ♦ :" and cenfures his antagonifl,
«* for pretending to have found out in what year of the
Jul, Period the world was created : — a thing, about
which not only Mofes and the prophets have been
filent; but even our Saviour and his apoflles alfo : — '
and confequently a thing, which no man now can
know, without an immediate revelation from Heaven*
which we are not to expeft +."

In another part of his valuable works, Mr. Fergufon
inodeftly remarks: " Iri fixing the year of the crea-
tion to the 706th year of the Jul. Period, which was
the 4C07th before that of Chrift's birth, I have fol-
lowed the Reverend Mr. Bedford, in his Scripture
Chronology, printed A. D. 1730, and Mr. Kennedy,
in a work of thefame title, 1762. Mr. Bedford only
takes it for granted, that the world was created about
the time of the autumnal equinox ; but Mr. Kennedy
affirms, that the faid equinox was about the noon of
the fourth day in the creation week, and that the moon
was then^ 24^hours paft her oppofition to the fun. — If
Mofes had told us the fame things, we fliould have
had fufficient data for the era of the creation : but as
Jie has been filent on thefe points, we muft confider

• Letter ii. to Kennedy, page 9.

\ Letter i. page 3. . :

the

Defects in the Plan. J35

the beft accounts of chronologers as hypothetical and
uncertain*/*

Here is a proper mixture of cenfure and caution ;
and both, in fome degree mifapplied ; for,

1. Moses has a6)ually afforded fufiicient data for
the date of the creation. He has told us that with the
tiofie of the Exodus a change of {Ule) by which the
feventh month from the creation became the firft from
the releal'e. Bedford and Kennedy rightly dared the
formation of the folar fyftem from the autumnal equi-
nox ; and it is well known, that the Paflbver, an an-
nual folemniry in the Jewifh church, and to this ^a.y
obferved, was ordained about the time of the oppofite
cardinal point. The conclufion is, that a definite num-
ber of full years, and fix fupernumerary months, had
elapfed from the primeval week to the firft Paffover.

2. Both Bedford and Kennedy, with every criterion
of truth, fix the primeval week in aftronomical coin-
cidence with the autumnal equinox, and the laft week
of OSober, A. P. J. 706.

3. T^HOSE learned men miftook the true year of the
Exodus, the former, mifled by Ufher's combination of
numbers, refers the time to the year of the Julian Pe-
riod 3218 ; whence dedu6l 705, the antemundan years
of that period, the remainder, 2513, denotes the year
of the world, the fame with that in the Annals, though
crroneoufly put in coincidence by the Primate with
A. P. J. 3223. The latter, Kennedy, antedates the

• Aftronomy, 1770, odlavo, p. 379.

egrefs

« <

kgfefs by one year, and is fo much the farther frbiii
chr6nol6gical verity.

4. From the prlmevai week ih-thctfirft of Adam's
life, to the week of the Exodus, In the Soth'of 'Mofcs;
the mterracdtate fpace is precifrfy 2514 yfears fix months^
(or 26 weeks to a day : 25 1 5 -f 705=1:3220, the true'
xramber 6t the Jul. Period. FerguTori hapfnly agreed
with his two predeceflbrs, as to that number of this
period \^hich charafterifes the primeval year; b6t all
three, together with the Mfetropolitait, have mifcalcu-
lated tht year of the egrefs.

With grfeat truth and jufiice does rergufofi cerifure
the aftronomical part 6f Kennedy's fchtme ; nor is his
work mofe accurate ih chrofiological arrangement. A
train of fcientifical deceptions pervades the entire mafs.
Some few inftances of feprehenfion feem to be Over-
done. '

1. Kennedy is blamed for affirming, that the timif
of the autumnal equinox waJJ at the noon of the fourth
dav in the creation week, and that the moon walS thefi

#

24 hours paft her oppofition to (he fun. This cal-
culation may be exceptionable. But the critic Over-^
ftrains his antagonift's meaning, when he infers froffli
his words, that the moon aftually ex i fled before the
fun*. ' It implies no abfurdity to fuppofe, that the two
lummai ies, in the moment of their creation, might have
been in the pofition defcribed by Kennedy, if fo were!
the appointment of the Almighty Maker. Whether

* §8ce Letter ii. to Kennedy,

thd

Defects of the Plan. 337

riie ifaci is capable of proof by the riiles of calculation
is a different matter. Fefgufori's calculation may be
ihore exaft, though not abfoliitely certain. ^

The refult of his operation is, " that the true time of
the autumnal equinox, for the longitude of Babylon,
waS Oftober 23, at 19 hours, 22 minutes, 41 feconds,
which in the common way of reckoning is O£lober 24,
at 22 minutes 41 feconds paft feven in the morning."
The author fubjoins the following note : " The reafon
why this calculation makes the autumnal equinox, in
the year of the Julian Period 706, to be two days
fooner than the tinie of the fame equinox mentioned in
page 153, is, that in that page, the mean time only is
taken into the account, as if there were no equation of
the fun's motion.**

" The equation at the time of the equinox tlien,
did not exceed an hour and a quarter, when reduced to
time. — But in the year of Chrift 1756, (which was
5763 years after), the equation at the autumnal equinox
amounted to one day, 22 hours, 24 minutes ; by which
quantity the true time fell later than the mean. So
that, if we confider the true time of this laft mentioned
equinox, only as mean time, the mean motion of the
fun, carried thence back to the autumnal equinox, in
the year of the Julian Period 706, will fix it to the
25th of Oftober in that year."

Here are two methods prefcribed for afcertaining
the time of the autumnal equinox, and fixing the fun's
place to the fign Libra on the fourth day of the crea-
tion week. The former, by mean time, as more dircd,

Z is

33$ Sir 1. Newton^j Chronology.

h preferable. The author refers to another calcuTationv
(Example vi. p. 311), where it is Qiewn^ th^t the true
time of the full moon at Babylon was the 23d OQo-
ber, at 42 minutes 46 feconds pad fix in the morning-
•* This he (informs his readers) fome fuppofe to havebeent
the year of the creation ; and the refult is, that the au-
tumnal equinox was on the next day after the day o^
the full moon. The Dom. Letter for that year was G^
and confecjuently the 24th of Oftobqr was qb a Wed-
nefday *.*'

Let the trut time of the antmnnal equinox^ A- !?'•
1656, which the author confiders only as m^tfii ti^ne,
fee applied to the true time of the full luoon oa
the day before the fame equinox ^ in the nutobcr of thQ
Julian Period 706 ; that full moon- will fall within the
limits of the fame day witb (;he primeval equiixQX.
Scienrifical precifion can, perhaps, bring the approxi-
mation of die planetary pofitipns to np greater exa£l-
nefs, with refpedl to a radical point in conaputatioor
It is requifitc to referve for aftronomy all the credit due
to its decifions, as far as they afford light in difquifitions
fo intricate and complicated ; proper regard bei^ ftiU
had to phyfical probability, to tjie differe:nt terms whence
the natural and the civil day may bei, or has been^ com^-r
puted) and to the unequivocal notations of the £K:re4
kiftorian.

2. Be it remarked, th^t light >yas produced be&re
the luminaries. As foon as the terraqueous noafs^ ba^ ac?

• Aftrott'. p. 3i6y 8vQ. 1770,

• • • •

qukcd

(juifed it$ ^bular form, pnd bjegan .to mov^ round its
axis,, the Creato|i (aid, " ]LfeT light be." The
eSe£l was a diftjnilion of evening and morning, equi-
valent to night and day. When the evening and
pipmlng had meafured the third day, that is, about fix
of tl;e clockj on the eyening of our Wednefday, aioui
the tiipe of the autuipnal equinox, God created the
two great luminaries, in a ftate of oppofitipn, the fun
in the lower hemifphere to difpenfe light by emanation,
and the inoon in the upper, to refleft it on the interme-
diate globe of earth ; the air having previoufly been
framed fof its tranfmiffion. At fix of the clock, on
the morning of Thurfday, the 25th of Oflober, the
£un fipft rofe at Babylon, on the northern hemifphere,
twelve hours after the time of the full moon.

3. AstRONOMERS, for the greater eafe and cer-
tainty of obfervation, count the 24 hours from noon to
noon ; we in Britain, from midnight to midnight ; the
ancient Babylonians and. others began the reckoning
from the rifing fun ; the Jews from fun-fet. Mofes
feems to compute from fix in the evening, the middle
point between noon and midnight.

4. Mr. Kennedy was certainly licentious in affum-
ing arbitrary populates, under the fanSion of Mofaical
principles, which led him into abfurd concluGons ; and
thefe he impofed on the 'public belief, with no fmall

. fliare of dogmatical cmpiricifm. His Cenfor, Mr.

JFcrguibn, difjguftedwlth his overbearing humour, and

exafperated by p^cfquj^) reproaches^ efpecially in calling

Z 2 bin?,

t**/-

. ■•■».->

34-0 *S/r 1. Newton'j Chron(flogy.

hirii, ** an illiterate *and incompetent judge** mixed afl
infufion of irritability with fome of his firi£lurcs *.'*

Mr. Kennedy was juffly reprehenfible for many pre-
cariotis conjeflures, fct forth, in plaufible^difguife, z!&
infallible axioms in the Mofaical chronology, which.
are the wanton fiflions of his own excurfive fancy.

That the autumnal equinox fell in the middle of
the primeval week, A. P. J. 766, is a faft aflerted by

• One inf!affcc, which feetns a deviation from Mr. Fergu*
fon's ufual compofure of temper, » felededfrom his Ftrft Let-
ter, p. 3. *^ You may abufe me as much as you pleaie ; but
however UUteraie you take me to be, I believe I know the
meaning of the few Hebrew words at the bottom of this page;
which I need not explain to y(/ti, who arc a good Hebrew
fcholar, and too well acquainted trith your Bible to be at anjf
h>fs where to ftnd them.- As ma/iy^ .who read this, may be
quite ignorant of the Hebrew language, I ihall neither give
the Englifli meaning of them, nor direft where to find them^
becaiife I would not willingly raife a Taugh againft you." The
Hebrew words arc fiotn Prov. xxvi. 4., and thus rendered in
our public verfton : •* Anfwer nc^ a fool according to his
folly, left thou be alfo like unto Wnw''
• That he w<)s iiliterate is a conrmion, but a falfe allegation.
He had the benefit of a claflical education in a nobleman's fa-
mily, under the tuition oF an able preceptor, and no mean
proficient in matliematrcal learning, which ftudics Mr. Fergii-
fon afterward profecuted under the famous Macbtorin. In .
many branches of learning he made no.fmall progrefs without
the aid of a mafter ; and if he did not rife to eminent (kill in
the more abftrufe myfteries of mathematical fcience, he ex-
celled in the faculty of inventing middle teriiis for con'dtadKng
cxperinients, and deducing important ^Bclufipns.

Mofe&

I

Defects of the Plan* J41,

Mofe^ though not in direfl terms, yet by mduQion.
That th? full moon h^ppen^d ^recifely 24 hours before
the fun, entered Libr^ in the fame weeTc Mo.fes does not
T^xvRp eith/5r in explicit terms, or by implication. Fer-
gufop a^gns an earlier date by almoft five hours for the
true time of that cquinokj ivA anticipates the fu^ll
moon by 25 hour^. Yet neither the one nor the other
meant to aifert the ilrange paradox, that the earth*s one
(atellite (hone forth^ in direfi oppoTifion to (die iuix; be-
fbre his exiftenoe. Neither did he incur aorimoiiious
cenfure for afBrming, tjbat the fourth day of the original
week was the fixteexith/)f the oripinal, month. It is
ifV^ell known, t^at the Jews regulated a^ their, compur
tations for feftivals, &c. from the firft day of the firft
month, after the vifibility of the rhoon ; and it would
be a very prepbfterous arrangement, to reckon the be-
gioning of a month and year from a full moon. "From
the moon i$ the iign of feafts, a light that declineth in
her perfeAion. The month is called after hcrmame *."
The facred year at the egrefs was counted from the day
gS. the moon's vifibility after the conjunction, and nqt
from the next full mo<?n, coincident with the 14th of
the iirft month. An pppoXition of the two great lu-
Biinaries implies a priof conjuaClion, whether within, or
)>eyond the limits of antemu^dan 4u«ratioa.

Mr, Fergufon allows Mr* Kennedy the merit af
confirming what others had fuggefted; — ^the coincidence
ffi the firft day in the JewiOi and Ghriftian week witU

♦ Ecclus. xliii. 7.

Z3 ^"^

342 Str 1. irEWTO'N*i'dlJr^d/S|y.

* ■ * •• -• ' .

the icventh of the patriarchal ; — and the time of the

crucifixion with the number of the Jul. Period 4746.

This conceflion authenticates the date aflumed for the

creation, A* P- J- 7pi&- For liF.eitnpr event be referired

to any other year, the haridonious evidence arifing front

aftronomy, chronology, iiiftory, Aid projphecy, like thi

confufion oJF tongues at Babel, becomes difcordaht ^«

* Thofe ^perficial readers^ wbofe aniiidB hciire deriyed)
a tinifture of fcepticifm irpm the ro;|:i^ntic pretenfions of the
anckntaad modern Orientals to. a. very repiote origin, it
may i)e difficult to perfuadc, that the iola)r Tyftcm has not
cxiftcd nibrc than 58 "centuries. * Btit'lhc oDJcraon 1*5 impef-^
tihttit aiid kbfniKl. Fof Gh&c it is iinpofliWe,' that the world
ihould be ^etema}, it 3^2^ have bad a Hcgif^ning!, nnd the. time.
4^s, wh^en it could not be plder than it is now. If^ therefore^
it had exiftcd earlier by millions of years, it might ftill^ with
equal reafon, bcaiked, Why was not the univerfc created 10
iW^s as rtiarty millions foohcr? S^e thfs arguincnl jHx^pcrly
ftit^i. In Di'.l^. Jth\!in'i ReoJcrUilble^Ji zAdCertai^ of tb^
<;:irtt.ijSTiA|!f RI^Li<;fiolr, vol. ij, pw 304. Loiid, 1711.

* «

CWAp.

i m )

■i«

jfftp

C H A ?• B.

Deviations from Historical Orbeiu

i, Acceffion of Saujl and Heroifm of Jonathan..

** T N the j^ear tefore the Chriftian era 1069, Saul U
-*• made king of Ifrael, and, by jhe hand of Jona-
than, gets a great viflory over the Philiftines *."

Here is a portentous confufion of incidents and
Jates. UBier conne£l« the inauguration of the fatho*
with the year before Chrift 1095, which antedates the
true term by two years ; and Sir Ifaac brings it into
coincidence with the fon*s memorable viflory over the
f hiliftine armies. It has been (hown, that Saul, when
privately anointed, wa« 31 years old, and that the Me-
tropolitan defpoiU him of the fovereignty, after a fliojit
reign of two years. According to him the war, in
which Jonathan gathered fo many laiirek, began in the
third of Saul's reign, and 34th of his life, when a
choice young man, and a goodly. In the very com^
mencement of hoftillties Jonathan's feats in general(htp
^exceeded his years and experience. So incredible are

• .Short Chronicle, page »i.

Z4 'the

344 ^^^ !• ^^^^os's Chrondoff.

.the achievements afcribe4 tp his valour, while a ftrip-
Jiogr. that every probable reafbn induces the necefGty
pf referring the dat^ of that war to a more protraded
-period pf his life, and of his father's reign.

Thjs expedient is ncceffary to prevent the difcocd

of hiftory with the courfe of nature. For, if Saul

yrtic made king of Ifrael, according to the doftrine of

:lthc Annals, in the year before Chrift 1095, and this

-war witjhitH^ Phil iftines brake out iQ93i(tbe 33.dqf his

age), — if likewife Jonathan fmote a garrifon of the Phi-

'Jiftines in Geba *, his age cpuld not exceed 14 years :' —

. the natural inference is, that the date of the war rauft

^bc deferred to a more advanced llage of the fon's life.

Again, if this war began eight years before the

fcirth of David, and lailcd to the 20th of his age, when

Sarnuel denounced the removal of the kingdom from

Saul's family, that long feafon of oppreffion and fervi-

fude was coincident With all the other wars in that

i'eign : — the^war with Moab, Amraon, Edom,Zobah t.

The recovery, of the kingdom is a pure fi£lion of

the Annalift. For the facred hlftorian dates Saul's

' reign from the time he was privately anointed at Rama^

. arid mentions this war with the Philiftines as fubfequent

to thofe already fpecified, but prior to that with Amalek.

By every criterion of time it was a war of one fingle

campaign, begun and ended In the year before the vulgar

'^Cbtiftian era'io69,^i)r Ai M. ^93^5 whe» Jonathan*s

^j/ge ftiigW be 30, as' in ttee153di^^e of this-AN^AX-Y^ife*

i ■ '*• J ■ • *

Th^

pmatlons from Hijlorkal Order. J45

*

'The illuftrlous Author of the Short ChronicJfy finding
the Primate's Arrangements^ for this Period, involved
in ^Ttificial perplexity, had recourfe to a bold, but
inadequate conjedure, which briQgs into coincidence
t^e acceflion of the father, and the military acjliieve*
ments of the fon.

It is inadequate ; becaufe Saul was invefled with
royalty in the 31ft of his age. It has above been (hevni
that Jonathan is always put firft in the regifter of his
brothers, a not unlikely token of primogeniture j^-^
that Ifhboflieth, or Eftibaal ♦, the youngcft of four,
fucceeded his father on the throne of the ten tribes,
at the 9ge of 40 1 ; and was confequently born in the
firft of that reign. Befides Ahinoam, Saul is faid to
have had no other wife or concubine^ She, therefore, was.
moil probably the mother of bis four fons. Suj^fe
them born, each after an interval of 18 months, Jona*

• , • • • ,

than was but fix years old at the time of his father's
accelTion ; and no more than 15, if born in the i6th
of his father's life ; the earlieft age of procreation re-
corded in the Bible. But the age even of 15, though
it were certain that be was fo old in the firll of that
reign, is inadequate to his military Ikill, experience*
courage, and fuccefs, exemplified in the facred hifiory.
On the whole. Sir Ifaac Newton's Scheme is encum*
bered with all the difficulties which perplex the com-
putation in the Annals, But, if thisPbiliiline war be
brought a8 years lower than the date afligned hy

f aSam. ii. S. and i Chron. viii. 33. f % Sam. ii. 10.

Ufhcr;

3+6 Sir 1. NewtonV Chronvtogj.

UDier ; and the acceffion of Saul carried 28 years
Wghcr than in the Short Chrmick ; the facrcd biftory
it eoafiftent with itfelf, with the verity of computation,
and with the courfe of NATURE.

a. Cnexijitfite i>f Shtskac and Sesostris with

Rehoboam.

^* In the year before Chrift 974,Sefac fpoils the Temple,
and invades Syria and Perfia, fettiilg up pillars in many
places*.^ ** Sclbftris in the 5th year of Rehoboam,
came out bf Egypt wifh a great army, fpoiled the
Temple, reduced Judea into fervitude, and went oil
conquering, firft eaftward toward India, which he in-
vaded, and then weflward as far as Thrace +.**

Here again is a train of controvertible poftulates.
From the teftimony of thefacred writers, in two texts |,
tlic Greek interpreters call Shifhac, Soufahim ; and of
Jofephus §, who gives the name Soujacos ; certain it is,
that he was contemporary with Relioboam. The dynaf-
ties, as condru^ed by Eufebius and Sy ncellus, charaflerize
Soujfaleim as the fon of Smendes, or Vennephes, the
£6th king numbered by Synceilus ; whereas Sethos,
Sethofis, Sefoflris, or Sefac, is the 55th of Manetho.
Thefe notations are at variance with identity.

Sir I« Newton argues, ^ That Sefac and Sefoflris

were kings of A L l Egypt, at one and the fame time ; and

.that they agree not only in the time, but in their anions

.^d conquefls«_ Where ^rodotup defcribes the expo-

• Short Chronicle* p, ao. f ChronoL ch. ii. p. tiS^

^ JL|it. viii. 10' !• ;, .

ditioi^

IXviatiffrir jfjrv^ Htjioricai Ordtr. 34^

JRrtbii bf Sefoftris, Jbfe'phus tells us; that he clcfcribedl the

ttjpfeailita of Sefac, ind attributed his aftioni to Sefoilril^

fciring only in the nartie of the king. Cbntiptions of

hatnes are frequent in hiftorjr; Sefoftiis W2lft olhdrwift

tailed Slifochriis, SefooTis, Scthofis, Sefonchis*''*

** Egypt was at firft divided into many fmaller kingdoms^

like other nitions, and giiew into one monarchy by

degrees."

All great etnpires were cotnpofc;d of petty princi*

{)alitieS9 accumulared by fucceflive conquefis ; and, if

Egypt were at firft under the government of feveral iti-

3epehdertt chieftains, with local jurifdiflion, it waJ

Itonfolidated into one monarchy long before the dayi

of Rehoboam. In the time of Abraham and Jacob, it

wafe under one fovereign. " When Jofeph was fet

bVer ALL the land of Egypt, Pharaoh only in the

tIfironIe was greater than he; and, when the fevea

years of dearth began to come, and the dearth was iit

All lands ; in all the land of Egypt was bread : ahi

wheh ALL the land of Egypt was familhed, the peoplfe

tried to Pharaoh for bread t." Every circumftance

Indicates one fuprerae monarch, and one prime minifter,

bver the who l!e land. About the time of Mbfcs* birth

** arofe A new king, who knew not Jofeph.** Hfs

htim'e tob was Pharaoh. At the eg^efs, the JPharaoh

JoF thofe days, With ^11 \a% hoft, periQicd in the Refl

«ca$.

Herodotus

* ChronoL ch. i. p. i%. f Gen. xli. 40—57.

% Herodotus makes Fheron the fon and fucacflbr of Se«
4(MB;piSp. iif I. Nciytofi affirms, thr.t he was the firft of the

Pharaohs :

24-8 jSir I. liEV/Tpu*s Ctroncloff.

Herodotus and D. Siculus, do not mehtionthf
^her or predeceflbr of Sefoilris. But Jofephus,
quoting from Manetho, records, that Amen6phi$
was the father of Sethofis. Africanus and £ufe1liu$
place Amenc^his lafi in the i8th dynally, and Sethp^
firlt in the 19th ; Africanus, in bis I2th dynafty,
^ferts Sefofiris as the fiuxeflbr pf Ammenemis. ?

Sir J. Marfham, and Sir I. Newton take for granCed|
tbat Amenopbis^ Ammeipenes, Ammon, and Memnon,
inrere one and the fame perfon, othejrwife called Jupiter |
fuid that Bacchus, Ofiris, Spthos, Sethofis, Spfoncbofis^
^elac, wejre but different n^o^ies iqf Sefoftris. If this
be a difcoyery, it is a fabric built on conje£lure, and
ihe conclufion, weak, as the hypothecs is ambiguous. . ^

Sesostris and Sefac, it is faid, reigned at the, fam^
time over all Egypt, ^ut other chron9logers, on
grounds equally prob.^ble, refef thje former to the times
of the patriarch Jacob ; aij^d a third clafs reprefent him
^o bfi. the Pharaoh who was drowi^e^ in the Red
Sea. Tbefe furmifesare, perhaps^ . all alike uncertaii^.
Of Sefofiris nothing occurs, but iip poetical traditions^
or legendary catalogues of kings, without chronologies^
flotations. The time of Sefa^'s c^i^iileuce is detenninec^
by infallible authority.

, But farther; to neither the qjie npr th/c pther, ojr
fo any ox^e Egyptian monarch, . jTo earjy as the days q^
Rehoboam, can the achievements, long voyages, ai^

y* *
r

Pharaohs; that in the reign of Afa he was drowpcd in the

* * . ■ »•

Nile $ and that he was afterward drified under the name of

Cms.

* ^tenfive

DiviaftoHT from Hijtorical Or^er. J49

^tchfive conqueftsy enumerated by Sir Ifaac Newton,
be arcribed. This great author pofiulates, <* That
Athon, -the father of Sefoflris, having, by the afliflancq
bf the Edonrites, built a fleet on the Red Sea, the foa
coailed Arabia Felix, failed beyond the Perfian Gulf,
and in thofe countries fet up columns, with infcriptions,
denoting his conqueils. After thefe things, he invaded
sn'd i:!&nquered Libya, prepared a fleet on the Mediter-
i^tiean, penetrated as far as the Ocean, and at the
mouth of the Straits fet up the famous pillars. At
length he came out of Egypt and fpoiled the Temple *.
The afGfiance of the Edomites is the bafelefs fabric of
a vifion. That people firfl acquired reputation as
navigators in the Chronology of ancient- Kingdom^
mntnded.

The Egyptians at the time fpecified, and many ages
after, had no ikill in maritime affairs. In the infancy
of arts, expeditions over a wide tracklefs fea, for
traffic or conqueft, were impraflicable. " That of
Sefoftris has been confidered as the moft favourable era
in the hiftory of Egypt, for fending a colony into
China. But, when examined with the greatcft at-
tention, it is nothing more than a facerdotal fi^ion^
without the fmalleft particle of reality. Megaftenes,
cited by Strabo, was pcrfeftly right in maintaining,
that Sefoflris had never fet foot in India. What muft
be confidered ftill more extravagant, is the opinion that
he conftrufted a fleet of 600 long veflels, on the Red

• Chron. xi. »I4«

Sea.

J 50 Sir I. Ne WTO X U Chr^noUgjf*

Sea. ThispK)digy is placed at a perie4» wbfn t&lt
ignorance of the Egyptians in nAvigatic^ was es^tremcji
becaufe thetr averfion to the fea wsis ii|vii|cible. . Ship
timber befides was fo very fcarce in £>gypff tha( a fuf*
ficient quantity could with difficulty he fojund fQrf:pi^^
pleting the veflels employed on the Nile, and the f^
ferent canals. It was, furely, after many unfuccersfii}
attempts, that boats were confiru3ed of h^Hfx/^ ^TX\kt
an invention hitherto never imitated by anyB^^ij^Hp
The method of burning thefe veflels, of givipg t)K^
a certain degree of ftrength by exaAncfis of prupq^fipf^
of varnifhing and covering them with r^flbeSj i$ npy
unknown. When the Ptolomeys ^QJeavqiiri^ • tg
eftablifh a trade with India by the Red Sea< the iiv.i^
of wood forced them to ufe wretched barks, ijtitcjbe^
with reeds and papyrus. It appears Ukewife, th^t ^ley
were always condufled by Greeii pilots ; for fhp
Egyptians undcrftood nothing of working them f ,

Isaiah, who prophefied two full centuries after R^
hoboam, thus defcribes the ftate of navigation in iEfgyfit,
while he denounces execrations on the i£thiopifii^;
«* Wo to the land, (hadowing with wings, ^hii([hisJlii^Qnd
the rivers of Ethiopia, that fendeth eiobalTacior^ jby thfi
fea, even in veffels of bulruflies upon tifie watery +•**
Too bold, in a ferious hiftory of arts and w^rs, i^ th^
paradox of powerful fleets, conveyed from jthe I^ilc ^o
the Eaftwn Ocean, in veffels of earth, butnjt lij:^

• Paw's Diffcrtations on the Egyptians and Chinefe, vol. i.
p. »8. t 1^3* 3u^^ii« '•

8 bricks

Diviathns from Hiflorical Order. jyt

bricks vA a kiln, and covered with bulrufhes for wings
er fails. Now if the Egyptians in Reboboam*s time
were fo very inexpert in n3val architeSure and the
art of fleering) much left will it appear credible thai
Sefoftris conftru£led a fleet Qf 600 long veifeU in ati
age lb remote, as the Exodus.

It remains to be noted, that th^ authority of HercN
dati^ and Jofephus, alleged by Sir I* Newton for the
identity of Sefofiris and Shifhac, is, as deficient and
foreign to the purpofe, inconclufive. Jofephu? relatef
almoft in the words of the facred records the tranfac^^
tions afcribed to Shifhac * ; without the Jeaft mentio(i
of Sefoftris ; and adds, "That Herodotus of HalicarnafTuf
4cfcribes the fame expedition, with the fole miftake of
that King's name, who, without a battle, reduce4
Syria of Palqftin^, and made the men prifon^rs of
war." The only paflagc in Herodotus, to which
Jofcphus could poffibly refer, feems to be Book II, or
£uterpe. Chap. CI — CX^ whjsre the ftory of Sefof-
tris is related ; but the name of Shifliac, or Sefac, does
not once occur. Neither is it there afErir^ that:
Sefoftris reduced Syria oi Paleftine. The author inr
deed acknowledges that he had feen fpme monuments of
conquefts, gained by Sefqftris, in that country. Btiit
this intelligence feems to merit no more credit than
what is in the fame paffage afferted, that the Phcnicians
and Syrians of Paleftine borrowed the cuftom of cir-
cumcifion from Egypt.

♦ See Jof. Ant. viii. iq. 3. and r Kings, xir. 15. % Chron.
xii. r^.

3. Co-ex ijiencr

35^ '^ff' !• Ne WTO N V Chrmioitgji. *

3. Co-exijlence of Sefojlris and Danaus.

Before Chrift 964 Danaus, with his daughter!/
fleeing from his brother Egyptus, i- c. fronr Sefae^ tromci
into Greece ^* The return of the bne brother is «&
figned as the reafon of the other*< flight. ^ On tfar
return ot Sefoflris into £gypt> his brother Danaus not
only attempted his life, but alfo commanded his daugli^'
ters» who were 50 in number^ and had married the font
of Sefoftris, to flay their huibands ; and then fled with
his daughters from Egypt) in a long fliip of 50 oin*
This flight was in the 14th year of Rehoboam. Daaaut
came firft to Lindus in Rhodes, and there built -a
temple, and ere£bd a (latue to Minerva. Thence be
failed to Argos, where he arrived in the 1 5tb^ or x6th
of Rchoboam f .'* Here the poftulate is ^fliimed-—
that Sefoflris was the brother of Danaus. Manetho^
and he alone \y affirms, that Danaus and Egyptus were
brothers. Perizonius afligns a very fatisfadory reafen
for the improbability of this notion, as incompatiUe with
genealogy, chronology, and hifiory §. But were this
hypothefis admitted, the identity of Sefoftri^ Egyptus,
and Sefac, is {lill doubtful. Except Sir J. Marfham,
and Sir I. Newton, none of all the chronologers brings

♦ Short Chron. p. %%. f Chron c.xi. 136. .^

X Others, befidcs Manctho, report the fame thing ; but on
bis fole authority has the co-exiilcnce of thefe perfons, with
the relation of brotherhood, obtained credit. If the faA
were either uncertain or falfc, the frequent repetition of it
by fubfequent writers, could not give it confirmation.
§ Egypt. Orig. €• xvi. p. 334,

any

Dnmfisfti frm Hiftmc^ Onbh 353

any of the three intoco-exiftence with Solomod and Re«*
hoboatn. Jofephus tefiifies, that the Ifraelites left Egypt
393 years before the arrival of Danaus at Argos *•
This date ihay be inaccurate. But it is much leis ex-
ceptionable than Sir I. Newton's hypothefis. Damaus
had 50 daughters, all married before his flight from
Egypt, 136 years prior to the 15th of Rehoboam.
He could not therefore be the brother of Sefac in thd
Sacred Hidory and Jofephus, or of Sefoftris in Hero*
d6tus.

Whether the dynafticsbe reckoned co-exiftehf
or fucccffive, whether computation proceed in th6
retrograde or progreflive feric«, by lunar, folar, or
fcdereal years, certainty is unattainable from the want
of fixed periods, and regulating meafures, applicclbte
to collateral hiftory, in the ages prior to Rehoboani
and Shifhac. Of matiy kings the names, with rtie
Ibngth of their reigns, are unknown ; and wide is the
difference of opinions, in what order the links of ihe
chain ought to be difpofed. In (hort, to adjuit hiftory,
by fucb' regifters, is a talk fcarcdy more practicable
thaa thedficyphering of the hieroglyphics • ■ - * •

Who drives to fix them, by fomc certaiti rule, '
May, by right rule and reafon, play the fool. Hor»

3. Co'iXiJience of Zeruiaiel and Jeflma^ ^ith Ezra and
' ■ • • Nehemiah.

^ ^* .Th£ hiftory of the Jews fet down in the Books of
' £itRA and N£H£MIAH, having fu&red by timeiwants

• Apion, i, x6,

A a fome

354- ^^^ I- Ne WTO N *j Cbronoh^

feme iHuftration. I fliall therefore, ftate their hiftory
under Zerubabel, in the reigns of Cyrus, Cambyfes»
and Darius Hyftafpis."

" It is contained partly in the foft three chapters of
the Book of Ezra, and the firft. five verfes of tbe
fourth : — and partly in the Bookof Nehemiah, from
the 5th verfe of the vilth chapter, to the 9th verfe
of the xiith : for Nehemiah copied all this out of the
Chronicles of the Jews, written before his days ; as
may appear by reading the place, and confidering that
the Priefts and Levites, who fealed the covenant, on
the 24th of the viith month, Neb. x. "vyere the very
fame with thofe who returned from the captivity, in
the firft year of Cyru^, Neb. xii. ; and that all. thofc
who returned did feal it. This will be perceived by
comparifon of the names," &c. *

It is admitted, that the contents of Ezra's Book,
from the beginning of the ift to the end of the vith
chapter relate wholly to the Hiftory of the Jews, under
Zerubabel, in the reigns of Cyrus, Cambyfes, and
Dariu^ Hyftafpis;. a few notations only excepted^ which
Sir Ifaac refer^^ v^irith exqi|ifi|te difcrimination, to iiiib^
fequent reigns t*

* Chron. ch. vL p. 35S.

f For inftance, the i^hafueru% ch; iv. i, was no other tha|^
Xerxes, the fon and fucceflbr of Dar, Hyftafpis ; and the
Artaxerxcs mentioned chjv. 7, 11. 23. and ch.. yi. 14. wag no
Other than Artaxerxes 'Longimauus, the fon and (bcceifor of
^eiam^. Xerxes; whofooames are infeited in the hiftory b^
anticipation.

But

t)eviattem fnm tiiflorieal Ordit. 3$ J

But it muft not be diffembled, that the tranfaflions
recorded between verfe 5th, Neh. viith, and verfe 9th,
ch. xiith of the fame Book) are all fubfequent to the
reigns of Cyrus, Cambyfes, and Darius Hyftafpis.
With all proper deference to the memory, and literary
merit, of Sir I. Newton, be it affirmed, that, except
t^o genealogical regifters, profefledly inferted as originals,
or rather as aftual extrafts, no one incident, in the
Book of Nehemiah, is prior in date to the 2oth of
Artaxerxes Longimanus. Nehemiah copied nothing
from the Jewifh Chronicles, written before his time,
befides the two family regifters, framed in the firft of
Cyrus, and again produced as vouchers [in the 21ft of
Artaxerxes Longimanus, the fon of Xerxes.

In the remainder of the vith chapter, which treats
of the Perfian Empire, this great man confounds, in
promifcuous diforder, the tranfaftions in the reigns of
Xerxes, and of Artaxerxes Longimanus, with thofe
of their three predeceffbrs, Cyrus, Cambyfes, and Dan
Hyftafpis *.

These tranfa3ions, difpofed in parallel columns,
according to their feveral dates, will be fufficient lo
evince, that the perfons who fealed the Covenant,
Neh. xii. were quitfe different from thofe, who re-
turned in the firft of Cyrus.

ZERUBABELand Jefliua Nehemiah came to
came to Jerufalem in the Jerufalem in the 20th of
ift of Cyrus, A. M. 3473. Art. Long. A. M. 3564.

,.• Seep. 359— 361,
- A 32 In

356 Sir I. Newto

In the 7th month of that
year, the altar built, the
feafl: of tabernacles kept,
iTiaterials and artificers pro-
vided for the fecond Tern-
pie.

In the fecond of Cvrus
the Temple founded : the
work obftruQed during
that and tlie fubfequcnt
reign ; finifhed in the 6tb,
and dedicated in the ytb,
Dar. Hyft. A. M. 3494 *•

The building of the
city oppofed in the ift of
Xerxes A. M. 3584 t.
Prohibited by a decree of
Art. Long. A. M. 3545:}: :
that decree reverfed by the
commiffion granted to
Ezra, in 3551 §. Ezra
makes an end of diflblving
irregular marriages 355 2 ||.

The hiftory continued
in the Book of Efther, to
the 13th of Art. Long.

i557-

. -. »

N'i Chronahgf*

In the 21ft of Art. on
the 6th month, the wall
finifhed ; and in the 7 th
m. the Law lead, the
feall of tabernacles kept,
with great folemnity : oa
the 24th a Faft ; a cove-
nant of reformation rati-
fied ; Nch. X. throughout,
A. M. 3565.

Thenceforward the
rulers dwell at Jcrufalem»
the people caft lots to
dwell, one in ten, in the
holy city, and nine pajts
to dwell in the othei'
cities of Judah, Neh. xi.
I, 2. Then follow the
names of thofe who came
from Babylon with Ne-
hemiah in the 2cth of
Artaxerxes, which are
quite different from thofe
who accompanied Ezra,
in, the 7th of the • fame
reign ; as alfo from the
retinue of Zerubabef in tfar
firftif Cyras;

- )

* Ezr. ch. i. to vi. aa. t E^r. iv. 6.

X Ezr. iv. 7. i Ezr. vii. 9.^ . fl Ezr. x. 17.

Pb.ID£AVX

V. _

Deviations from Hiflorical Order. '■ 357

PRIDEAUX fitly obferves, that the Nehemiah and
Mordecai, in Ezra, ii. 2. were not the Nehemiah and
Mordecai of whom fo much is faid in the Books of
Nehemiah and Esther, but quite different perfoni
of the fame name*. Sir I.Newton, unhappily re-
ceding from that cautious and amiable diffidence, which^
in ambiguous cafes, dirtiriguifhed' him from the petu-
lance of dogmatifts^ afHrms in terms by far too por<«
emptory, *< Yea Nehemiah, the faftie Nehemiah, the
fon of Hachaliah, who was the TiVihat^ia, fubfcribed
the covenant in the rergn of: Cyrus t."'^ It is carefully
to be noted; — ^that the: Nehemiah, who accompanied
2^nibabeU is not diflinguifhed, in the Book of Ezra^
by his family or offios ; for the Tirfhatba, in ch. ii. 63,
could be no other than Zerubabd himfelf ^^andthe
tPirfiiSitha, Neh. viii. 9. mentioned -together with
E2ra,-the Pricft and Scribe, could be no other than
that Nehemiah who came from Shuflian to Jerufalem
in the 20th of Artaxerxes I. The Law was not read,
nooccafional Fa ft was ke^t, no covenant of reforma*
tion was fubfcribed in the firft of Cyrus. The interval
hence to the 20th of Artaxerxes is 91 years ; a cir-
cpmftance extremely um£avourabIe to the ^ppoiition of
one and the fame Nehemiah.

Our iliuftrious author feems to have been mifled
hy a variation in orthography or diale£l, when he
fuppofed, that Ezra the Prieft and Scribe, who read
the law» Neh. viii. accompanied Zerubabel and Jefhua

* Connex* P, i, p. 106. f Chroo. yL $6Z.

A a 3 frooi

358 St> I. Ne WTO N V Chr$n$logy.

horn Babylon, in the firft of Cyrus. Of an Ezra, in-
vcfted with the dcfignations of Prieft and Scribe, n6
mention occurs in the Book, infcribed with, that name^
before ch.vii. !• where he is charaderized as a fon
of?Seraiah, .the 14th in dcfccnt from Aaron. He
ce#taitily w»» ^he predeceffor and colleague of Nche*
mi^, in Ju4^,4uriqg the reign of the firft Artaxerxes.
But whence did Sir L Newton furmife, that this Ezra
r^tdrned in the firft of Cy^us, contrary to his own ^
teftimony ; which fixea his removal from Babylon to
the firft day of the firft-month^ in the 7th year of Ar-
taxerxes, and his arriiral at Jemfalem, in the .5th ^
month of the fame year * f iiis fole authority feems^^
to beNeh. xiif i. where we read> **. Now thefer are I
the priefta imd levites ifrho went up with Zenihiai>el:>
and Jeihua, Sersuah, Jeremiah, Ezra.'' But inrth&'
original regifter, Ezra, ii^ i. &c. Ezra is not, ex- ^
prefled in any of the clafle$. In Neh. x. 2i Seraiah* -
Azariah, (probably Ezra, the prieft and fcribe)^ witb-
Jeremiah, are faid to have fealed the covenant, as :
priefis ; but it is not afiirmed, that they returned in the *
firft of Cyrus. The Ezra, Nehwxii. i. 13. might have
^rived with Jefliua, the chief of the facerdotal order ; .
but it does not appear that thefe were the very fame
perfons who ratified the covenant in the 21ft of Ar--
taxerxes. If Ezia were an officiating prieft at the end
of the captivity, his age then wa6 at leaft 31, full'9tl*
ye^ before be read the law eight days in continuous^"

♦ £zr. vii. J> 9» ' •

order

Dmjiaiions from HiJiorUaJ Ordtr. 35 j

order from morning to mid-day, in the ears of all th€
PEOPLE. Such exertion. was fcarcely credible at the
age of 1 23. ■ ■ '

As diftinn^ perfons, fo different dates, are taken for
the fame; — the 7th month 4n the pontificate of Joia«-
kim, A. M. 3565, being Confounded with the 7th
month in the ponfificate of his father Jefbua, 3473 }— ^
the feaft of tabernacles in the firft of Gyrus, with
the fame feftival, kept wtth morefdtemnity in thfe aift
of Artaxferxes. Thefe are but a Specimen.

Tt cannbt he admitted, that Neliemiah copied froitt
Jetvifli Chronicles, written before his time, the things
related in Hi Book from the* 5th 'verfe of the viith
chapter, to the 9th of the xiith i much lefs, ttet th^
fatne things were all of a datfe pHbr to the reighs of
XfetJtes and- ArtaxcTxes Longitnahils, as isaffirmetl ♦*

The Hiftoriah aAnovslleges :the authority of no
record written before the time of Artaxerxfes, except
a getiea!ogical regifter of them who had come up at
the firft. This regifter he found either among thfc
deeds preferved in the colleSion of national archives,
fince the days of Jeftiua, or its extraft in the fccond
chapter of Ezra's Hiftory, if then publiflicd. Its title
IS, <* Now thefe are the children of the province,
who went up out of the captivity, whom Nebuchad-
nezzar carried away unto Babylon, and came agaih
unto Jerufalem andjudah, every man tmtohi^ city,
with Zerubabel.'* In both its cojues + the general

* Chron. ch. vi» p. 363. f Ezra^ ii. and Neh. di.

A a 4 number

360 . Sir I. Newton'j Chronology.

number is, 42,360, but the partial fums, as reckoned
up by their families in Ezra, amount only to 29,818 ;
and in Nehenilah, to 31,031. The meaning of whicb
is, as l^i. Pridcaux obfcrves, they are only the tribes
of Judah Benjamin, and Levi, who are reckoned by
dieir families, in both tbefe places, the refi> being of
the other tribes of Ifrael,. are numbered only in the
grpfs fpra, and this in both computations makes the
grofs jTum fo much exceed the partial fums *.

It mud be allowed th^t the numbers and. names of
thofe priefts and leyites^ Nehemiab, xii. i,-— 9« ^ho
went with ZerubabeJ, agree nearly with the princes,
priells, and levites, .chapter x. i-^ij. who/^aj^d . the
covenant. But this general agreemeiit does not evince
an identity of the perfons. Dr. Wall properly cpn-
fiders the names in the lafi mentioned catalogue as the
families, or defcendants, of thofe who accompanied
2erubabel an4 Jeffiua, almoft a century before*, To
explode the incoherept hypothefis of Sir !• Ne^wton,
fufBcient it is to recoiled ths^t Ezra iirft arrived at
Jerufalem in the 7th of Artaxerxes, with about 1500
attendants, 4iAin£k and feparate from the colony in the
firft of Cyrus ; — and that Nehemiah fet about, tjie re-
paration of the city-wall, in the pontificate of Eliafliib,
the grandfon of Jefliua, no lefs than no years from the
foundation of the fecond temple*

For the imperfeflions found in the chronology qf
(lie Perfian £mpire the Editor offers the following

« SeePrid* Coi^ncx. Parti, p. X07.
.. apology.

^

Deviations from Hiftoriial Order, 361

apology. " The' fixth chapter was not copied out
with the other five, which makes it doubtful, whetfieir
the author intended to print it. But being found
among his papers, and evidently appearing to be a con-
tinuation of the fame work, and, (as fuch abridged
in the Short Chronicle), it was thought proper to be
added. Had the great author himfelf lived to publifh
this work, there would have been no occafion for thib
advertifement. But, as it is, the reader is defired td
allow for fuch imperfections, as are infeparable from
pofthumous pieces.'* This chapter, with all its defi-
ciencies and miflakes, exhibits ftriking fignatures 6f
judicious difcrimination. The ainhor's overfights werJ
thofe of a mafterly genius. Even this leaft elaborate
feSion of the Ancient Chronology is, in feveral refpe£is,
a valuable acquifition ; efpecially, as it fhews the
fallacy of confounding Cambyfes and Smerdis with
Ahafuerus and Artaxerxes, in Ezra, iv. 6, 7 ; for thus
are reSified the prepoflerous and fanciful arrangementi
of Uftier, Prideaux, Bedford, &c. This equitabfc
conceflion, however, does not vindicate conclufions,
incompatible with chronology, hiftory, and the circum*
fcribed period of natural life.

4. TJje dates ajjtgned for feveral arts and ufageSj coeval
with facial life^ are improbable : for inftance.

Agriculture. " Ceres, a woman of Sicily, comet
into Attica, and teaches the Greeks to fow com ; for
which benefaftion (he was deified. She firft taught the
ajrt to Triptolemus, the young fon of Celcus; king of

Eleufif ;

jfta SirL N E WTO N *x Chrdnohgf.

Ekufis : before Chrift 1030. Areas, the fon of Caf-
lifio, and grandfon of Lycaon, and Eumeltvs the firft
ling of Achaia, receive bread-corn ffom Triptolemus ?

B. C. 1020 '^r

The cuhivatron of the ground was introduced in
the firft age, tianfmitted to the laft generation of the
cJd world, and revived by Noah, after the Flood t.
An art fo indifpenfably neceffary to the comfortable
fabfiftence of the human kind, in the progreffive ftages
of population, could in no fubfequent period ^be loft.
Much more probable is the pofition, tliat its advance*
to perfeftion kept pace with the cohtinual improve-
iaients in all the fubfidiary arts. At the time of the
tfifperfion, the feveral colonies cairried to their new fet-
llcments all the (kill and experience of paft-ages^ and,
among the reft of the ufeful arts, AGRicuLTtJRE.

To the fons of Japhet immediately after the fepara-^
tion from Babel, were the ifles of the Gerttile^, com-*
prehending Greece, affigned. Extremely abfurd is the
notion, that they could increafe and multiply, and re-
pfenifii the earth, without fubduing the foil, by the
varioBS arts of iftaking it fruitful* The old fabulous,
cferonotogy brings the different migrations from Egypt
into- Greece many ages lower than the days of Japhet.
Sir John Marflwm connefts the arrival of Ceres in
Greece with the time of Jofliua^s death, 13 generations^
after the difperfion in the days of Pel«g. It is not

* Short Chronidc, p. %$,
f GeR, iv. I. aad cb. ix. ao^

credible

Deviations from Hijlortcal Order* 363

credible that the uTe of corn was unknown in GreecOf .
from its firfl plantation, by the fens of Japhet, to the
days of Jo(hua ; much lefs, that agriculture, one of tbp.
primeval arts, was firft introduced into that countryt.
in the reign of David.

Early uje of animal food in Egypt,

** The Egyptians lived only on the fruits of the
earth and abominated flefli eaters *. They originally
faced, hardly and abfiained from animals. Mehes taught,
them, to adom their bed? and tables with rich furniture,
an4r b|:,9^ght in among them a fumptupus, delicious^
and vpluptpous lyay of lifet.** This Menes is, by a
fatality of computation, put the third in fucceflion
after the fuppofed Sefac or Sefoftris of Sir I. Newton ;
and, in connexion with fo very recent a criterion of time,
th^ term ^originally is moft unhappily combined. Ab-
ftin^ce from; animal food was the natural confequence
of brute worfliip. Every circumftance recorded of
the EgyptiaAS, in the days of Abraham, Jacob, and
Jofephi induces the full conviSioi^, that Monotheifm,
the religion of the Hebrew Patriarchs, was like wife
the national religion of that country. Till divine honours
were paid to certain fpecies of animals, their flefh
was no lefs commonly ufed for food than the fruity of
the earth : and that fuch honours were not paid to
theqa in the life-time of Jofeph may fairly be prefumed
from the hiftory of that time. The chief baker's dream

* Short Chron. p. 9. f Chron. p. 941.

of

364' Sir I. Newton V Gn'onoh^.

of white bafkets, containing all manner of bated mcart^
for Pharaob, implies the ufe of animal food. Jofcph
ordered the chief ruler of his houfe to is lay and make
ready, for the entertainment of liis brethren, who were
to dine with him at noon. This fort of idolatry and
abftinence was the invention of a fubfequcnt age.
Jor the Ifraelites in the wildernefs recollefled with
difcontent and impatience the time wlien they fat ty
the flefh pots of Egypt, and did eat bread^ f6 the firff.
They remembered too the cuctjmbers, *and* the'Weftms,
and the leeks, and the cJnions/ ihd the* piXxc? "ttteffce
it is eyidfent, that the pot-Ilerl5s ©P Egj'pt Widrt nbt'th^il
confecrated. Corruptions of * this ktrfd wfefe'iiioftpi-of^
bably introdiiced, firft of alF, in the fpace betWeien tWe
death of Jofcph and theegrefs*^ . • . ,.

" Th e Tower part of Egypt befng ybirly' ovei-floW^J
by the Nile, was fcarce inhabited befdhe the irKrenti'oii
of'corn, which made it ufeful : afnd the ktitgv iVhcJ-b^
this invention, firft peopled it, and refgrtdd oi^e'r it,
perhaps the king of the city Mcfir; whete Memphiii
was afterward bnih, feems to have been wor (hipped
by his fubjef^s, after death, in the ox or caJf, for this
benefaftioh t." It has been fhewnv that the deifica-*
tron and confcquent 'wdffhip of animals can be traced
no farther back than to the (hort interval from Joftph
to the Exbdas. At this latter term, and no fooner,
Pharaoh permitted the Ifraelites to perform facrifices

* For the origin of Brute and Image Worihfp, See Winder's
Hiftory of Knowl. toI. t. cb. xiv.

t CbroB. p. X97*

in

Deviations from Hijlorkal Order* 365

in his land ; but Mofes remonftrated, that the Daughter
of the facred animals, in his dominions, would exaf-
perate the inhabitants. Here is direft evidence for the
cxiftence of brute worfliip, and confequently of abfti-
nence from animal food, in the time of that very genera-
tion, v^'hich recollefted the fleOi pots of Egypt, From the
J^xodus to the reign of Menes, who it is faid fucceeded
Orus, the fon of Sefoflris, in the i6th of Afa, king of
Judah, and firft introduced into Egypt the fumptuous
mode of living on animal food, the interval is 542 years.
Sir Ifaac Newton conjeflures, that animal food was
firft permitted in Egypt, more than five centuries after
it had been prohibited, as a facrilegious profanation.
That the, lower part of that country, enriched by the
yearly overflow of the Nile, was fully inhabited, long
before it was conquered, by the Phenician fhcpherds, who
fled from Joiliua, is evident from this circumftancc,
that fo early as the days of Jofeph, the land of Egypt
had become the granary of the world, and fupplied aU
(he contiguous nations with bread, during a grievous
famine of feven years. In the paflage, above quoted,
this very eminent writer difcovers a (iommendable
degcee of caution, in leaving undetermined the time
^nd name of the king, who u^vented the art of raifing
corn^ and fertilifed the foil by, means of the Nilq.
BjLit if a date, po{le|:ior to^ the Exodus, be afligned for
the^e improvements, it will be difficult to itccount
fpr the power of the Egyptian empire, and the no
lefs fucklen than prodigious multiplication of the
Ifraelites, at a period when, it is affirmed, that the
tuiV country

366 Sir I. Nzwton'/ Chronology.

country was fcarce inhabited. The Aborigines, doubtlefs,
brought into their new fettlement all the arts of the
old, and of the reftored world, Abfuid is the fup-
pofition, that tillage once introduced could anywhere
fall into difufe.

The rife of art s^ and the foundation of cities in Afia Minofy
Cretey Greece^ and Libya^ Sir I. Newton^ refers
to the age of CadmuSy in the reign of Davidy an era
too recent for credibility.

In our language, as in every other, the fenfe of no
word is, perhaps, more equivocal than City. Its
moft general meaning implies an afTemblage of buildings
occupied by a community of inhabitants. " Rome
properly 'fpeaking, was at firft but a forry village*
whereof even the principal inhabitants followed their
own ploughs*." Prefumable it is, that many of the
moft ancient cities, did, in the flrufture, fize, and num-
ber, of buildings, refemble fome of our Britifli hamlets,.
As the inhabitants multiplied they were enlarged. As
the feats of empire, arts, or commerce, they rofe gra-
dually in importance.

*' Cain, who built the firft city, called it after the
name of his fon, Enoch. The beginning of Nimrod*^
kingdom was Babel, and Ercch, and Accad, and
Calnoh, now Bagdat, in the land of Shinar. Out of
that land went forth Aflier the fon of Shem, and tuifc
Nineveh, the City of Rehoboth, and Calah/* The

* Ifooke't Rom. Hift. vol. i. ch- >.
6 firft

Deviations from Hiftorlcctl Order. 367

firfiand lafl are called great cities^ Sidoti, Gerar,
Gaza» Sodomy and four other cities in Palefiine, if
hot likewife Jerufalem, the metropolis of the ancient
Jebufites, had become, fome of them at leaft, v€ry
populous, not to fpeak of lefs honourable diftin3ions^
prior to the arrival of Abram *. According to that
one true hypotheOs, which I'efts on the firm bafis of
hiftorical evidence, Abram was certainly born in the
Z3Cth, not the 70th of his father's life. Hence Sir
W. Raleigh deduces a very reafonable inference :
^ In this patriarch's time, all the then parts of the
world were peopled ; all regions and countries had their
kings. Egypt had many magnificent cities, and fo bad
Palefline, and all the bordering countries ; yea, all that
part of the world befides, as far as India : and thofe
not built with flicks but of hewn ftones and ramparts ;
which magnificence needed a parent of more antiquity
than thofe other men have fuppofed. Therefore, where
the fcriptures are plaineft, and agree beft with reafon
and nature, to what end fhould we labour to beget
doubts and fcruples, or draw all things into wonders
and marvels ? giving alfo ftrength to common cavillers,
and to thofe men's apiih brains, who only bend their
wits to find impoITibilities and monflers in the ftory of
the world and of mankind t."

It cannot be denied, that fome of Sir I. Newton's
arrangements incur this cenfure. For inftance — " In

* See Gen. iv. 17. and ch.x. 10—19,
t Hiftory, p. aaJ».

the

368 Sir I. Newton*j ChronolegfJ

the year before Chrift 1080, Lycaon the fon of Pelafgu^
builds Lycofura; Phoroneus the fon of Inachus, Phoroni-
cum, aftenvards called Argus ; iEgialeus the brother of
Phoroneus and fon of Inachus, ^gialeum, afterwards
called Sicyon : and thefe were the oldeft towns in
Peloponnefus. Till then they built only fingle houfes,
fcattered up and down in the fields. About the fame
time Cecrops built Cecropia in Attica, afterwards called
Athen§ ; and Ekufine, the fon of Ogyges, built
Elcufis. Thefc towns gave a beginning to the kingdoms
of the Arcadians, Argivcs, Sicyons, Athenians, Eleu-
fmians, &c. ***

Those who give credit to the fabulous antiquities of
Egypt, mention three colonies, thence tranfplnted into
Greece, Sir J. Marfham connefls the firft expedition
under Phoroneus with the birth of Ifaac ; the next
under Cecrops with that of Aaron ; and the third under
Daiiaus with the time of the Exodus. The interme-
diate fpace is four centuries. On Sir I. Newton's
computation it is remarked, i. That the foundation of"
thofe cities, and the rife of thefe kingdoms, are men-
tioned, as events of the fame date, [^^ much about the
fame tlmey 2. That the time affigned for fuch build*
ings is prior to the introdudion of the arts, letters,
mufic, metals, and their fabrication, from Phenicia
under Cadmus. Perfeflion in architeflure is not con-
ceivable without the previous ikill of feparating metals,
from their drofs, and of ftiaping them into various uten-

• CbroB. p. 19.

tkviations from Hijlor'tcal Order. 369

fils by the mould or the hammer. Theie arts were
Certainly- much Jmore ancient in the LelTerAfia, than
the reign of David *. 3. Sir Ifaac Newton feems to
aflume the poflulatCi- that the Egyptians, who con-
du6led fucceflive colonies into Afia the Lefs, Crete,
Greece, and Libya, found thefe countries either defolate,
or in a ftate of barbarifra. But it has been (hewn,
that the fons of Japhet were the firft planters in a much
more remote age. 4. Cadmus, it is affirmed, brought
I^etters, -with other arts, fciences, and cuftoms, of the
Phenecians, into Boeotia, about 35 years after Lycaon
built Lycofura t ; that is, about the 12th year of
David's feign. The date of this ufeful improvement is not
now the fubjeftof difqtiifition ; for whether it be placed
higher or lower^, certain it is, that alphabetical compofit ion
was ' not applied to the hiftory of the Greek colonies
before the order, dates, and all the circumftances of
the feveral migrations from other countries had entirely

* Cam the eldcft Ton of Adam built a city, and Tubal Cain,
©ne ofhlsdefcendants, was an inftru(5tor of every artificer in
brafs and iron. This implies that the fabrication of metals
was prcvioufly kno^vn. So large a veffel as the ark could
not be cohftrudted, without nails, bifs, and plates, and fo
huge a pile, as the tower of Babel, required no mean degree
of fkiii in mcchanifm. At the difpcrlion nations were firft
formed, and lb numerous was each colony, that the coHec-
tive body in every diftin<5t country pofllfied all the knowledge
of the primitive world, with the ever accumulating improve-
ments, of the new. Th«^ muft the knowledge of the mo5
ofcful art« have been coeval with the difperfiou.

f Chron. p. 14.

••■ B b c'capcd

370 Sir I. Newton 'j ChrmoUff.

efcaped the memory of the inhabitants. Thus if the
Argive era were near three centuries prior in time to
the Attic, as Sir John Marfliam has fixed the origin of
both, the tranfa£lions of thofe intermediate centuries
could not be preferved to the time of Cadmu$ *. For
Sir L ^ewton lays down this fundamental principle^
•* Before the ufe of letters, the names and aSions of
men, could fcarce be remembered above 80 or 100
years after their deaths t." By the fame rule are the
adions of Cadmus himfelf unfupported by hifiorical
evidence. According tojofephus, the Greeks them-
felves admitted, that the law^s of Draco concerning
murders, were the moft ancient of their public records ;
and Draco, he fays, lived but a (hort time before the
tyrant Pififtratus J. From Cadmus to Pififtratus i$
a period of almoft five centuries beyond the era of
authentic hiftory.

That article of the Short Chronicle, (B. Chr. io8o«)
-which makes the two brothers i£gialeus and Phoroneus»

^ The illuftrious author forefaw this objedbion, and had the
precaution to ward off its force by introducing Lycaon, Pho*
roneus, Cecrops, and Cadmus, about the fame time. Thtii
artifitte perplexes his reckoning by generations : Agenor, an
exile from Egypt, became king of Phoenicia; whence he va^
pofed the name Phsinix on his eldeft fou.. His brother
Cadmus, emigrated thence into Greece, where he built a
city, and founded Thebes, the capital of Boeotia. This
expedition is with the greateft probability conneAed with the
time of Samuel the prophet, 50 years earlier than the date
afligncd in The Chronology of ancient Kingdoms amendedm

t Chroa. Iatrod«p. 7. X ApioB» i. 4«

t)ii)tattoris front tlijiortcat OrJler. yjt

the founders of Sicyon and Argas, in the fame year
teftifies that tniftake, in the Old Chronology, which
inferts it or 12 nominal kings of Sicyon between the
two fons of Inachas, now mentioned; and the years,
Aifigned tothefe feigned kings, abridge the computation
by three centuries ♦.

This difcovery is important. But the age of Inachus,
tbe father of ^^gialeus and Phoroneu", ilill remains
undefined. Sir J. Marfham affirms tliat Inachus was a
mer, not a man +. Syncellus fays, that Inachus and
his fon Phoroneus, were the moft ancient kings in
Greece % and it is well known, that the poets ufually
derived thofe kings, of whofe anceflors tradition had
Ifiot preferved the names, from a river, or a god. In
the Short Chronicle Cadmus is faid to have brought a
Phenician colony into Greece 120 years before the
¥oyage of Danaus with his 50 daughters from
Egypt. This laft date, by the fame chronicle, is
964 before our era, or 529 fubfequent to the Exodus.
This computation brings that expedition too low. Jo-
fephus, in a paflage already quoted, with much more
probability affirms, that the Ifraelites left Egypt 393
.years before the reign of Dakiaus in Argus. But this
it not the fole objedion to the poetical, or rather
Ji£litious, plantations of Egyptian colonies in Greece.
Dr. Mufgrave, comparing minutely the ufages civil,
^meftic, and religious, of the two countries, pro*
nounces them totally diffimilar ; and hence he concludes

» Introduiftion, p 7» t Chron. Canon, p. xj.

Bba

. that

372 Sir I. Newton'j Chromhgf* ■

that the Greeks were, in general, natives of theii' ovim
foil ; that their religion and mythology were radically^
if not entirely their own ; that they' refented as an
indignity the report that Cecrops was a foreigner ;—
and alfo affirmed that Cadmus, Danaus, and Pelops^
were the firft flrangers who had fettled anriong them ♦.

This cenfure detrafls from the credit of Strabo,
D. Siculus, and others, on whofe authority Marftiam
contends, that Greece was peopled by colonies from
Igypt under Phoroneus and Cecrops ; but does not
affeft the fcheme of Sir I. Newton, who uniformly
reprefents the anceftors' of fuch leaders, as ftrangers/
and intruders, in that country ; and themfelves as
fugitives, expelled by force Exceptionable indeed
is his notion, that Danaus was the brother of Sefact
and Sefac the fame with Sefoftris, as is already Diewn.
For if Sefoftris returned into Egypt, in the I4tk
of Rehoboam ; and Danaus fet out on his voyage
to Argos, as Jofephus teflifies, 393 years after the
Exodus, the interval is 260 years, a period inconi*
patible with the do3rine of Sir I. Newton.

Such are the imperfe£lions in the plan and exe*
cution of this great man's chronology. A fpecimea
only has, for the fake of brevity, been fele£lcd. Caa-
dor and equity demand a concife view of the improver
ments peculiar to this his laft bequeft, which, with all
its defe£ls, would alone have . been fufficient to con-
fecrate his memory.

V

• DUftrt. on Gr, Myttology.

CHAP.

( 373 )

CHAP. III.

Fixed Periods afcertained by Sir I. Newton.

BY the light of philofophy have fpots been dif-
covered on the fun's difc. But thefe impair not
tJiemanifold beneficial ufes of that glorious luminary.
Sir Ifaac Newton was born, in an enlightened age,
for the advancement of fcience, and his comprehenfive
ipind either adorned or exhaufted every fubjeft of in- .
Veftigation, It is not furprifing, that the fame maf-
terly genius, which gave the ftamp and feal of certainty
to many abftrufe problems, fufceptible of dempnftration,
or experiment, fhould deduce un fat is factory conclufions,
either from uncertain principles, or from modes of
proof, which refult in degrees of probability inferior
to infaUible evidence.

; If this wonderful proficient in fcientifical fkill, did
BOt untwift all the perplexities, in the art of computing
times, it cannot be denied, that he improved and
adorned the fubjcft by conjefturing fhrewdly concern-
ing the- true date of feveral important events, which
lay far beyond the line of hiftorical time, and by com-
bining a train of proofs, fufficient to induce the con-
vi<^iQ9» that his conjedures were JUST ^ e. g«

Bb3 x.Whq,

374 S'!" !• Newton'i Chronology.

I. Who, When, and Whence, the Pastor-
kings iVi £gypt?

The folution of thefe queries has long been an
engine of torture, to the moft profound adepts in the
myfteries of computation, and the fubjeft is ftill under
an arrefl of judgment. Of thefe ambiguous perfonages
theearlieft account is a fragment of Manetho, preferved
by Jofephus, in the 14th feftion of his firft book
again ft Apion. It is in fubftance as follows. /

" Under an Egyptian king, Timaus, a multitude
from the Eaft invaded the country, flew fome of th^:
inhabitants, enflaved others, burnt the cities, demoliflied
the temples, and committed all manner of hoftilities.
At length they made Salatis, one of their number, king^-
•who reigned at Memphis, and made both the upper and
lower regions tributary. He had five fucceflbrs, whofe
reigns amounted to about 254 years. After them fuc*
ceeded another dynafty, who kept poffeffion of Egypt
511 years," in which fum the former number is pro-!-
bably included. It is added, " That the kings of
Thebais, and of the other fovereignties, raifed a war.
again ft the fhepherds, who were fubdued, and (hut. up
in a place called Abaris, whtre they fortified themfelvesi,
in the reign of Alifphragraofis ; under whofe (od^
Thummofis, they agreed to evacuate the country,.
They pafled from Egypt through Syria, and built
Jerufalem in Judea."

These invaders might have come from the Eaft^ but
every feature in the piduxe difprayes the wild fi^ppofi-
. tioa

Fixed Periods* jyj

tion of Jbfephus, that they were none others than the
Fathers of the XII. Tribes. Than the fpecifidj charac-
ters of time, hothing can be more vague. In that
ftrange, inexplicable record, The Dynafties, Timaus
is the name :of no one fovereign ; and the fame may be
faid 6f Alifphrigmofis and Thummofis. By no cer-
tain teft can the interval be defined.

Usher brings thefe ufurpers from Arabia, Bedford
from Canaan, and both agree in fixing the time of the
invafion to A. M. 1920, or about 90 years before
Abraham. This term encroaches on the time of the
general difperfion, prior to which no kingdoms were
erefted, and confequently no- revolutions poflible.
Allow 500 years for the two dynafties, the time of
the lafting war raifed againft them by all the con-
federated kings in Egypt was about 95 years before the
Exodus. Biit every memorial from the birth of Abra-
ham to the end of the 430 years fojourning, reprefents
Egypt as one monarchy. The Ifraelites, and the
Paftor-kings, both poflTefled the Lower Egypt, but not
at the fame time. If the Paftor-kings were expelled
before the Ifraelites arrived, the former muft have
feized the country before the feparation from Babel.
Thus temples are faid to have been demolished before
they were built, and empires overturned before their
cxiftence.

Cumberland, after a very tedious difquifitlon,
maintains, that thefe (hepherds were Phenicians,defcen-
dants from Canaan, the firft planter of Paleftine, con-
neSs their expullion with the Argive era, about the

Bb4 56th

376 Sir I. NewtonV Chronology.

56th year of Ifaac's life ; that is, 508 years after the
flood. By this reckoning, they invaded £gypt about
the time of Arphaxad's birth or infancy ! What a
palpable abfurdity ?

Shuckford conjeftures, that thefe fliepherds were
the inhabitants about Mount Hor, whom the grand-
children of Efau expelled their country, in the time of
Jacob's grandchildren. This author places the ufur-
pation of Salatis fomewhere between the death of
Jofeph, and the biith of Mofes, and affirms, that the
cruelties faid to have been done by this tyrant, againft
the kings and native fubjefls of Egypt, were inflided
on the Ifiaelitcs. He is the new king, who knew not
Jofeph. But it is not recorded, that Efau, or his
defctndants, conquered, much lefs expelled the Horites ;
and leafl of all, that the refugees made an inroad into
Kgypi, and fubdued the country. This is fiftion not
hiftory.

Of all the conjeclures on this intricate fubjeft, .that
of Sir I. Newton alone derives confirmation from
Jiiflory. " The Canaan ites who fled from Jofliua,
retired in great numbers into Egypt, conquered the
lower country, and reigned under their kings, Salacis»
&:c. until the days of Eli and Samuel *.'* The proofs,
w ith their authorities, are fct forth ih the larger work,
p. 19b — 202.

Several infallible charaflers of time reftrift the
conquell of Canaan to .the 45th year from the releafe

• Short Chron. page 9.

out

Fixed Periods.. ' 377

out of Egypt ; and though conficierable numbers, might
have taken refuge in that country, during the four
p9(l years, ithis may be confidered as the lall date of
' tb.e -migration. Eli's magiftracy began in the year
frpm the egrefs 319. From the greater number take
the IciSi the furplus 274, denotes the interval. Manetho
^d Syncellus, agreeing nearly with Jofephus, as his
numbers are now exprefled, affign a6o years to the
firft dymHy of the Paftor-kings from Salatis to Affis )
and this fum dedufted from 274, leaves 14 years for
the return of the firft refugees into Canaan. This
remainder indicatcsthe 14th prior to £li's adminifiration,
coincident -with the 9th of Tolah,

All the other fchemes of adjufting this fragment, of
the Egyptian Chronology to the Sacred Hiftory, are
awkward, fortuitous, ineffecient ; exemplifying licen-
tioufnefs of conjefture, incompatible with phyfical
probability, and repugnant to the ftate of the world.
Sir I. Newton's hypothefrs refts on the report of au-
thentic hiftory, and di (covers a felicity of genius ia
afcertaining both the origin and period of this otherwife
equlvQcal dynafty. .' .

2* The rife of the Assyrian Empire is placed too htgb
by all the ancient ^ and the greater part of the modern
turiters.

« As the deified kings or princes of Greece, Egypt,
and Syria of Damafcus, have been, made much an*
cienter than the truth, fo have thofe of Chaldea and
Aflyria; for Dipdorus tells us, that, when Alexander

the

378 Sir I. Newtok*/ Chronology.

the Great was in Afia, the Chaldeans reckoned 473,600
years fince they firft began to obferve the ftars ; and
CtefiaS) with the other Greek and Latin authors, 'who
copy from him, have made the Aflyrian Empire as old
asNoah^s Flood within 60 or 70 years, and tell us
the names of all the kings in Aflyria from Belus to
Sardanapalus. But the names of his kings have no
affinity, (except two or three), with the names of the
AfTyrians mentioned in fcriptnre. — Ctefias fuppofes,
that t)ie Aflyrian Empire was at an end 250 years before
it began."

** However, we muft allow, that Nimrod founded
a kingdom at Babylon, and perhaps extended it into
AITyria, but this kingdom was of fmall extent, if com-
pared with the empires which rofe up afterwards ;
being only confined within the fertile plains of Chaldea,
Chalonitis, and Aflyria, vfatered by the Tigris and
Euphrates : and, if it had been greater, it could not
have continued long, it being the cuftom, in thofe
«arly,ages, for every father to divide bis territories
among his fons ♦/*

Sir Ifaac having taken notice, p. 2,69, that no mord
is heard of an Aflyrian Empire, from the days of
Nimrod to thofe of Pul, proceeds to fliew, in a mul-
titude of inftances, from the Sacred Hiftory, that
various provinces of this large fovereignty, were, during
that protradled interval, under the dominion of fundry
independent kings : and his conclufion is, *« In the relgnr

^ Cbron. cb. iii. p. %6f9

Fixed Periods. 379

of Sennacherib and E£arhaddon, the AfTyrian Empire
&ems arrived at its greatnefs, being united under one
monarch, and frontainirig Aflyria, Media, Apolloniatia^
Sufiana, Chaldiea, Mefopotamia, Gilicia, Syria, Phce«
nicia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and part of Arabia, and reach-
ching Eaftward into Elyraais, and Paraetacene, a pro-
vince of.the Medes : and if Chalach and Chabor, bo
Colchis and Iberia, as fome think, we are alfo to add
thefe two provinces, with the two Armenias, Pontus,
and Cappadocia, as far as to the river Halys : for
Herodotus tells us, that the people of, Cappadocia, as
far as to that river, were called Syrians, by the Greeks,
both before and after the days of Cyrus, and that the
Aflyrians were alfo called Syrians by the Greeks*/*

These decifive geographical notations, confirmed
by fo many appofite and dlrefl teftimonies from the
leered Oracles, authenticate this illuftrious writer's
hypothefis, " That the Empire of Affyria was firft
founded at Nineveh, by Pul, about the year before
Chrift 790, and deftroyed by Cyaxares and Nebuchad-
nezzar in 609, after it had ftood 180 years." Were
fingularity of opinion an in£aillible fymptom of erroneous
judgement, eafy it were to defend Sir I. Newton from
this charge. Not to mention other competent judges,
Mr. W. Jamefon, Profeffor of Hiftory in the Univer-
lity of Glafgow, publifhed, fo early &s 1720, his
Spicilegia anti^ttaium Mgypti atque ei vicinarum
Gentium : in which very exquifite fpecirtien of

• Chron. p.aS3.

Oriental

380 Sir I. Newton V Chronolo^.

Oriental learning is fuggefted, and ably raaintainerf.
Sir I. Newton's fcheme of the Affyriati monarchy, in
its late origin, wide extent, and fh<5rt duration ♦.

The date of the Argonautic expedition, and of
the Heraclidae recovering a fettlement in the Pelopon-
nefiis, Sir I. Newton has fixed, with great probability, on
the unanimous report of traditional hiftory. Thefe
events are valuable no otherwife, than by their fub-
fervience to determine the following epoch.

3. The overthrow of Troy feems probably conneBed
' with the reign ^Jehoshaphat in Judahy and of
Ahab in IJraeh

From the^ royal calendar, in Jerufalem and Samaria,
certain it is, that thefe were contemporary princes ; —
that Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, or
Itho-baal, king of Zldon ; — and that Jehoram, the
fon of Jehofhaphat, married Athaliah, the daughter of
Jezebel. Thus is the genealogy of the Hebrews inter-
mixed with that of the Tyrians.

Ethbaal was the great-grandfather of Dido,
the fifter of Pygmalion. " Virgil, a:nd his fcholiaft
Servius, who might have fome things from the archives
of Tyre and Cyprus, as well as from thofe of Carthage,
relate, that Teucer came from the war of Troy to
Cyprus in the days of Dido, a little before the reign
of her brother Pygmalion, and in conjunftion with

• This elaborate piece of ancient criticifm is now feldom
feen. Thofe to whom it \% aeceifible, {nay confult chap. iii.
and iv«

her

Fix£t> Periods. jSl

htt father, feized Cyprus, and eje£led Cinyfas : and
the marbles fay, that Teucer came to Cyprus fcven
years after the deftruftion of Troy, and built Salamis.
If, therefore, the Romans, in the days of Auguftus,
followed not altogether the artificial chronology of '
Eratofthenes, but had thefe things from the records of
Carthage, Cyprus, or Tyre, the arrival of Teucer at
Cyprus will be in the reign of the predeceffor of Pyg-
malion, and by cpnfequence, the deflruftion of Troy
about 76 years later than the death of Solomon *."

It is to be noted, that Teuger, the fon of Telamon,
king of Salamis, an ifland on the fouthern coaft of
Attica, having incurred his father's difpleafure, becaufe
he had not brought back from Troy his brother Ajax,
was refufed an afylum in his native foil. But en-
couraged by an oracle, he pointed his courfe to Cyprus,
"where he built the new Salamis, and became a pattern
of fuccefsful enteriprize, ^ too eminent to cfcape the
lenown arifing from the records of poetical heroifm.

Teucer Salamina patremque

Cum fugeret, tamen uda Lyaeo
Tempora populea fertur vinxifle corona

Sic trifles affeQus amicos :
Quonos cunque feret melior fortuna parente

Ibimus O focii comitefqu^ &;c. HoR. Odes, 1. y^

When Teucer from^hijs fire ^nd country fled,
With poplar leavps the herb,crown'd his head.

• Chron* p. 6s»

«'.'■'<

ReekidT

3fe Str I. NbWton*x (^ronoUgf,

Keeking with wine, and thus his friends addrelf^ *
Deep forrow brooding in each anxious breaft ;
Bold let us follow through the foamy tides>
Where fortune, better than a father, guides.
Avaunt defpair ! when Teucer calls to fame.
The fame your Augur, and your guide the fame*
Another Salamis in foreign clime,
With rival pride (hall raife her head fnblime,
So Phoebus nods ; ye fons of valour true,
Full often tried in deeds of deadlier hue,
To-day with wine drive every care away.
To-morrow tempt again the boundlefs fea.

Francis.

Virgil much more pertinently fpecifies the time^
and defcribes contemporary perfonages. In the fub**
joined paifage Dido is introduced informing i£neas^
that fhe had feen Teucer on his voyage, cruiiing along
th^coaft of Sidon.

- Teucrum memini Sidona venire,

Finibus expulfum patriis, tiova regna petentem
Auxilio Beli. Genitor turn Belus opimam
Vaftabat Cyprum, et viSor ditione tenebat.
Tempore jam ex illo cafus mihi cognitus urbis
Trojans, nomenque tuum, regefque Pelafgt.

i£N£iD,i. 623*

— *— Now I call to mind.

When Teucer left his native (bores behind ;
The banifli'd prince to Sidon qame, to gain
Grrat Belus' aid, to fix him in his reign }

S Then

Fixed Periobs. 383

Then the rich Cyprian ifle, my warlike fire,
SubduM with hoftile fword and vengeful fire.
From him I learn'd the Grecian kings o£ fame»
The fall of Ilion, and your glorious name. Pitt*

In the works of Jofephus, and o^ Theophilus, Bifhop
of Antioch, are happily preferved two extraQs fron*
the Tyrian Chronicle, of Menander the Ephefian, who
compiled with great diligence and no lefs judge mentj
an hiftory both of the Greeks and Barbarians, on the
authority of genuine records *. A relick of pagan
antiquity fo curious, authentic, and fubfervient, to
conneft the facred hiftory with that of the gentiles,
merits fpecial regard, as affording various articles of
important intelligence relative to the fabulous .ages, and
as being the only fragment now extant of a once large
chronicle. It is here exhibited at one view together
l!f ith the co-exiftent reigns in Jerufalem and Samaria.

• Sec Jofephus, Apion, i. 18. and Thcophil. Apolog. EngL
edit. 172%. p. 28s. This fragment, in it$ two copies, varies
occafionally in the orthography of names, and in partial
mnnbers; but both agree in the order of fucceffion, and
igeneral lums.

. On the authority oFfhe ancient Prolate, 8 years, not 6, /^Mcl '
as in Jofei . us, are affi|ned to the reign ofBarlezoar, fon of
Ethbaal. The larger number it here preferred, becaufe every
probiaibility brings the conliagration of Troy, and the rife of
Salamis, into coincidence with the reiga of Pygmalion's
father. ^

Years

38+ SirI^Ni\WTOk*^»ChrMoloff.

Years from the Illd of Solooipo, aad Xllh 'of Hiranii
both excluded, tQ the dlieaih.of PjgfDa^mm " ^

JuoAH. Samaria. >

Solomon

Rehoboam

Ahijah

founds the Temple

y

JeholKaphat

Troy overthrown
Jehoibtphat

J«kortm

Ahaziah

Athaliah

Jchoafli

*3

3»

36

3

3
2

3

7

16

■ 17
26

•«7

.38
39

141

2

9

Tj'
18

19

20

21
22

^3

24
1 25

2

3
4

'■ 5

6

7
S
I

I
2

3

Jeroboam X.

Baa(ba

Omri

Ahab

Ahaziah
Joram

Teucer builds

Dido falls
Jehu

Foundation of
3^1 J Jehoahax

-, .A.M««994«
Hiram 12 i

Abdailart

Anoaymut

Aftart

.... ^j .

Afcrymtls

Phe}ef

Itho^aal

3
X5
17

3C

22

I

•5

H

15

*4
\i

12

2

■3

4

5
12

20 Badezoar «>
'21. .Matgenut*
22

z
2
t
2

3

. 5
6

7
8

9

10

IT

12
I
2

3

4

12

.;;«

New Salamis:'^
Pygmalion

from Tyre

New Carthage
Pygmalion dies

>34 - H
1 30

6
9

12

2

- 7-
8"

12

9
; r

9
10

22

«3

24

3«,

39

^3

7*

73

8»

^i
94

II

"3

2 ,115

3 "6
4.417
5 118

7 120

* «y

^.124
3 125

5 "7

6 \^%

7 I2jt

8 1.^0

9 131
ao 132

n 133

36 16^

A.M. 3163.

iFixib pEKiobi. 385

This Table combines the Pheniciaa with the Hebrew
Annals, during the lapfe of iSo years, ending A* M.
3163, which is the 69th before the £lrll Olympiad*

The primary end of inferting it here was to vin-
dicate and confirm the computation of Sir I. Newton,
who, by various methods of proof, efiablilheS the con-
clufion, that Troy was overthrown about the 76th or
78th year from the demife of Solomon. From all the
Aree columns, it is intuitively obvious, that this prince
died in the 36th year after the foundation of the
Temple, c6 -incident with A. M. 3030 ; for 2994-4-36
=3030. It is equally evident, that the cataftrophe of
Troy ilands in chronological connexion with the 1 14th
from the foundation of the Temple, A. M, 3108 : the
I ft of Matgenus, the father of Dido, the 21ft of Ahab,
and the 1 8th of Jehofliaphat ; — precifely the 78th from
the demife of Solomon : or nearly three centuries fub-
fequent to the old erroneous chronology.
• The ancient writers, Thucydides, Dion, ot Hali-
carnaOTus, &c. defi^ne the date of fome eveilts by a deter-
minate number of years prior to the fall of Troy, ai
the expedition of iht Argonauts ; others by a pofterior
tei-Ai, as the return of the Heraclidai, the origin of '
Rome, &c. But fuch vague arrangements explain
nothing ; bccaiife the term of computation, or fixed
point, fuppofed to be univerfally well known, is itfelf
involved in obfcurity impenetrable.

The author laft mentioned, with all the folemn
■formalities of indefeftiblc precifion, inforn^s hi^ readers,
that « Ilium was taken, at the epd of the fpring, on

^ C c the

3^6 Sir I. Newton 'i Chronology.

the 8th 4ay before the end of Thargelion, according fir
the Athenian Calendar, and 17 days before the fumrocf
fclftice ♦.** The year of no national era is exprefled ^
Bor was it poflible. At the time when Troy, wa»
buried unc^er her own afhes^ the Olympiad bad not,
become a chronological epoch, Ron^ was not built||
Nabonaflar, yet unborn, was not the fubje£l of hiilory.
The notations, fpecified by this learned Hillorian ara
aftronoroical ; and by his reckoning the funamer folfticc,
fell on the 12th day of the month July, in the Julian
year of the World 2&23» almoft three centuries, a»
already noted^ before the tree date of that memoraUt
cataftrophe.

This fixed period, fuppofe it marked with ever/
ppnible criterion of fcientifical truth, if ab^folutely,
confrdercdt i& fnvclous \ but, if wkh reference tor
evei;^ts. prior, co-exiftent, or more recent, importanim
That, in this latter view. Sir Ifaac underftood fucb
hiftorical incidents as the Argonautic expedition, tht
overthrow of Troy, theregrefs of the HeracHdae intqt^
Peloponpefus, &c. is naturally inferred ffom his.om^.
very judicipus remark ; ** Tbefe periods^ being fettledr^
become the foundation for building on them the chro-'
nplogy of ancient times, and, for fettling tl^is chro*
noio^, nothing more remains to make theie jj^ciods. ^

little exa^er, if it can be, and to ftew how the reft of

» . ■ . ^ . . . '

the antiquities in Greece, Egypti Affyri^r Chaldeair
and Media, m;iy fuit therewith f ."

^ IXioa. Hal. Rom. Aiittq^ B. ». C. 6x» t Chrom p^xi^

TlUB

Fixed Periods. 38^

'Tiii iMriousatthor might fiave intlttdea Phcc^t
hicia, whence Re rup()oIcs, «* thit the Sidoriians, in Xh%
i^5th'of David's reign, or thereabout, emigt^ted linidef:.
Abibalii§, Cadmus, Cili'x, Thafiis^ Membiiarius^, Atytn-
hbs^ and bth%r captains, to Tyre, Airada^j Cilicia|,
Rhodes^ Caria, Bithynia, Phrygia> Callift)?; TharuJi
SiUBaolhlrace, Crete, Greece, and Libya *^." I'b the
fehf^ agfe is referred the building of Tyre^ thfebfei,
Kc.

Im this paftage Abibalus is affirmed to liave been i, .
fugitive from Sidon. But in the fragment Irom Me*
Hinder, it is faid, that he died and was fiicc'eeded by his
fon Hitam, whoy v^ith his defcendsints, kept pofleffioti
of the throne, at Icaft tw6 certturies', from the accieflion
of AHibalUSi to whom Marfhall in his Chronological'
Tables affigns a reign of 19 years, pridr to iht fole
adminiftfatioh of Wiram. On this hypotheffs Abibalus
Was made king of Sidon in the 1 2th of David* His
predcceflbr was Agenor, the father of Cadtnus, .whb(%
elder brother Phoenix, having been born in ihfe coutttry^,
tVas called by its name. CadihUs and Phoertix Wfefe ^r-
thinly coeiral with Danaus, b^caule he had a dsiUgnterf
Aniymoiie, by their fiffer Eufbpii. Mafffianl dsltes ih&
ihigfauctn of Cadmus from Phehibia, abbiit 10 yearil ,
eanier than tHat of Danaus from Egypt ; though h^
connects the arrival of both in Greece nearly with thi, ^
time of the Exodus. The authority of Jofephus h^s _
already been mentioned) dating that the Ifraelitd left

;. i

• p X05.

C c a Egypt

^58 Sir I. NswTOw'i Chromhgj,

tgypt 393 years before that expedition of Danaus i
and the fame writer aflerts, that Tyrewas built 240
years before Solomon's temple. Both thcfe notations
arc more probable, as lefs incongruous with genealo^
and hifiory, than the reckoning in the Chronology of
ancUnt Kingdoms amended^

\i Sir I. Newton's afligned term for the downfal of
Troy difagree with his own arrangements for the rife of
the Boeotian Thebes, and the Phenecian Tyre, it bar*
pionifes with the hifiory of the age to which it is re-
f^fsed. A few inftances are fttbjoined*
, !• .The three years of d^rth foretold by Elijah ia
the days of Ahab is recorded, in the fragment from
Menander, to have happened in the reign of EthbaiA
king of Tyre, and father of Jezebel^ the wife of Ahab»
ting of Ifrael ♦.

a. With the termination of the Trojan war is con-

ne&ed the hifiory of Athens, and the other Greciab
^ites; for that city filr rendered in tlve 2 2d of Men&-
|lheus, Archon of Athens +•

3. The father of Pygmalion and Dido was known
by fundry names, Agenor, Belus, Matgenus, Mettes,
not to mendon other variations; but his hifiory is
fignalifed by two notable events, the fall of Troy in the
firft, and the rife of New Salarois in the 8th of his

* Compare i Kings, xvi. 31. and chapters, xvii. xiriii, with
Jofcphus, Ant. B. viii. ch. xiii. i , a,
f Par. Chron. Epocfi. 25.

4. SUNDKt

Fixed Periods. 3^^.

4. StJNBRT memoiHible incidents diAingoilh itiKd'
itign of Pygmalion, c. g. ; in his ytb year the flight <^
MsMerDido; — the iexccution of Jezebel, ofAhaziah
and Joram, kings of Jerufalem and Samaria ;'^and that
revolution which brought Athaliah and Jehu each to a
vacant throne ; — in the loth the foundation of Kew'
Carthage. Obvious is the uTe of chronological charac<«
ters, fo numerous, fo decifive, and ail crowded into (b
narrow a compafs, that they derive mutual elucidation
from contiguity of time, and co-exiftent perfonagcs.

5. By a fingular felicity of conjeQure, which forte-
times reconciles apparent contradiflions in hiftorica|
records, nas Sir I&ac re£li(ied that notorious anachro*
nifm, whicli ignorance, and faffe erudition have laid
to the charge of Virgil, in afferting, that iEneas Svas
coeval with Dido. Tbofe of the critics who afTefl the
greateH indulgence to this poet's reputation as an ac-
curate chronologer and genealogift, offer two apologies
for this confufion of times, events, and chara3ers.
Some of th;^m kindly allege the plea of ignorance In
the antiquities and biftpry of T/^^? This apology oijr
very leaded, author sepels^ by evii^cing that both Virgil
aftd his commentator Servius, not only had accefs to
the archives of Tyre, Cyprus, and Carthage, but affirm,
with the accuracy of hiftorians, the co-exiftence of
Teucer, i£neas, and E^i^Qi about the period of the
Trojan war. Others admit the poet's Ikill in the
chronology and hiftory of Troy, Tyre, and Africa,
but fuppofe that he had recourfe, for the fake of em*
;l)fllilhment, to a poetical liceqce. This feeble effort,

C c 3 to

3^ Sir I. NscWOJQnV Qhrmuka*

to^lfvctfie poet's qrfBdit, bet says the ignomvp^svid |a-
j||4ipKt^|Z(»loJ^hisi^eDds, the critics. Tb^h&.fle^^^
P^-^H^tWoflP dcfen^^s, h^ fully be^n fl|fwa, ^ ^i
]f9^i[9^,^^taliai^ on tibe fubj^ ♦, .„ ; .

. It wuflt liowev^ be owned, iba^ VirgU 'Wii?^ B^
viSaii^ by the aJ!i/ artificial cJ^rooology ^ painjci^aj^ly, ^
^ii^the Avi^Qn of in/i^lbl^ility to tl^t 9f acli^/vii';!^^^
fpietojd a reign of 300, years to ^h^ kiiig^€|f;i^lf)at 1^
co^dMiai^g -*nea^ tQ Carth^^ in theL,7tl^Xe|f pf^
TOy4g^*» tb?* i«» 8 years p^ot t^ 1^ fl^^^ ^f^'iMflt
ftOfQ. Ty rcd and full four y ears^ afteif b^ , ; owq ^^eaj^h^
l|bt tbipfe ci^viaupns fj^m h^flocical tnitlv 49 Qf)^ ^^<^
th9 (n35di^iUty. of tihfi Ijia, thajt; tl^, hejo a^ t^9W;
iBCfip coojten^porary ; whicU they. i?iigbt b^:^ t^,
%po(iti0^. that they ^cver l^ a<? interyieyj;,, ^^

• See Differtations, and crUical Remarks, mi the JEneid of*
▼irgil,*y'John Martyn, F.R.S; Lond. 1779. ' ^^ thcfiif^^
Diflettation, Sk 1 N^w^a's a^w^cnts^aiji ^p|^j^ i^^^S^
aii4 coi^fi™^.; , , . . >

r+ —TTT-.T^ W fc^timapQrtat

Omnibus errantiEun terris e^ fludibus xftas. JSneid, i. 759^,
liere the 7th fummcr from the conflagration b^TfOy ft
fpecified. But in a fornier pa0age of the ffinte Book, ▼• ai^.
Jupiter promiie» to J£neas, in tbeorac^iUr (UlOi a r^p loj^-
tlwee.yc^irs after his a;p^«?P I-atAwn?; . ^ ,

T^rtja dum,l.atip regnaptem yidcrat sftas^
Xemaque tranficrint Rutulis hibcma fubadis.
If thcfe three yckrs be added to the 7th ff om the date^ Of
iMs expedition, he muft have furvirtd the falix)f Troy lOiyears ;
a^period^c^mfatiblc witb that hiftory. or rs^icf tradijipp,
which a/Tigns but.feveo y^r^ tp his life a^r th^^ cataftrpphe.
See MarfliaU'^ Chron. TaJ)lcji| sxJU. before the Chrifti^n

a* \- w; > 6. << When

Fixed p£Rtoos«

6. * Wh£^ the Romans conquered the Cartj^a*
^nians, the archives of Carthage canoe into their
ftands ; and thence Appian, in hts hiflory ot the Kuiic
i^arSf tells, in round numbers, that Carthage ftool ^
^bo years. Soltnus adds the odd number 37. It was
^cfflrbyed in the confiiKhip of Lentulus and Mum*
muisi A/P. Jul. 4568 ; whence count backwards 73'^
ye^i-s, and ihe Encoenia 6t tJedication of the citVt witt
^all upon the i6rh year 6( Pygmalion, the brother o£
Dido, and king of Tyre ♦." With all deference be it
fuggefted, that, if from 4.568, be (jabtra8ed 737, thi 4
remainder 383^1^ will denote the number of the Joliaa
i^eriod* coincident with the firft of Carthage; and, bjr
the Table, its foiundation was laid in the iQth of Pyg»
ixu^lion, andiSth from the cataflrcfphe of Troy* hi
this one chara£ler of times. Sir I« Newton's intuitive
fierfpicacity ieems to have, failed. This great man
refers to no hiftorical voilcher, in fupport of his pofkion^
that the years of Carthage were anciently reckoned
from the dedicatioo of the city« and not from the date
of the firft building. Hildory juflifies thi/^ computatioa
in no other infiance, and does, not mention this« a& aa
exception from a gjeneralrule. From the foJe authori^
of this eminent writer has the hypotbefis derived tra-
ditional credit. But probable circumilances remonfirate«
Neceflity, not choice, induced Dido to undert]ak^ J^
expedition, of which fafiety,. not empire, was the ptir
majry obje£l* Sh^ launched with a few fliips, indif-

• Chron. p. <^,

Ci: 4 ferentif

^ft Sir 1. 1<J £ WTP N •/ Chrmhgy^

lieiently manned, and found it mctS^rji %9,4ileifpb9^
itCypnn^ wbcce, having acquired a . r^iAfprcemei^
ilieiefunied the voyage, landed on ,tb^4^fikaa cpaft»
and having ratified commercial treaties with th^ patives^
lonned at laft the projed of erecting a fojrtrefs *• The
&undation of By rfa is, in the table, referred to the third
y«ar after her expedition from Tyre, pce^ifeiy 737 prior
to the defolation of the city by Scipio. Sfr I. Newton
leems to have fallen into an egregious, miltake. when he
jCickons from the i6tb of Eygtnalipn, A. P. Jul. 383^^
fottne intprval heace to, the defolation o]f Cartha£e,i$
botyji; inftead of 737. -^

* "This era, the dbwnfal of Troyi' fo VAy'iiictnorabfc
in the mythology or Greece, yet fo inaccurately^ de-
fined by chronological notations in th^ annals of the
Gentiles, Sir Ifaac Newton has afcertained by the
Various, but combined operations of afirohoijfiy, chr6«
^^<>gy> genealogy, and hiftoiry.' The refult of fiicfi
xnuttipTied experiments is, thai Troy was reduced to
defolation A. M. 3108 ; 194 years before the reftoration
of the Olympiads by Iphitus, and 18 prior to thefpun'*
dation of Carthage by Dido.

The difcovery pf 9 fource for computation in the
times antecedent to the epoch of aftronomi,cal chro-
AOiogy among the gentiles, fimilar to the Chriftian
era, (a term peculiarly and exquifitely fubferviept for
conneding the hiftory of the Old Teftamcnt with that
bf the New, and, in certain periods of time, the

* Juftin, lib, xviii. 4—^.

facred

^ FrxBD PfJtia0%* 39J

ft^red^ wkh the profane), is a valuable acqutfidon to tte
ftoek of general Icnowledge ; for which the prekxnt and
hcf^ecdin»' fenerations arc, and will be, indebted to
the patietit tnduftry, and exploring genius, of the iiw
comparable Sir I. Newtom. ♦ The application of tbtt
fixed term, to the tones before and after the Fall of
Troy, is referved for tiie (ilbj^^lof the enfuing chapter*

* Mr. Martyn, in that morfel of extjuiiitc criticifm, the
Dflertation above quoted", defends Virgil in points not necef^
far^ to. the tntth of computation* and which hfftpry cann^
admit. J£neas reigned four years together with Latinus, ani
fhree more after his colleague's deceafe He therefore died \
iKbout the efl4 of the feventh year from the fell of Troy, and
eonfcqucntly before Dido's retreat from Tyre. This author's
concluding remark is judicious. *' Every impartial reader
will be fatisfied tha,t Virgil is acquitted from the anachromfin
iVid to hfs chfarge. Had Sir I, Newton undertaken profefledl j^
to vindicate Virgil, we might have fufpe<Jled, that, he was
Winded by partiality to that great poet ; but as that is not the
cafe, we mull look upon him as an impartial judge, and maj
obferye with pleaiure, that as Virgil is undelignedlyjuftified,
£b the authority of that noble poet confirms this amendment
of ancient chronology, by our great pbilofopher."

CHAP.

4.

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♦

CHAP.

JV.

J . .

. ■

The Subjeft continued*

g\ f many ancient cities, once populous, and the
^^' feats of empire, arts, commerce, legiflation ; fo.
^y fingular has been the iate, that the fpots, wherQl
lome flood, and the times when others rofe or fei(, hHvo
long (ince become the fubje6l of controverly ambng anti«i
ciiaries. In fable, and in hiftory. Babel, Memphisj.
Thebes, and Troy, have, for ages pafl, been obfolet^
names, belides which no memorial remains. Bjr com«
ing together a few notaikioas of times and pedigrees,
til extant in thef records of pift ages, fubfervii^nt to^
conneft theTyrian Annals with thofe of the Hebrews aniJ
Greeks, Sir I. Newton acquired the honour o( a dif«
covery,^ much more valuable, than would have been
the reftoration of Troy from her ruins, projeQed by
the firft two Cefars.

. CENSdRiNUS, and the other ancient writers who
ventured to define the interval from the Fall of Troy
to the firft Olympiad, waver in their opinionsj anj
pronounce with uncertainty. The leaft fpecified number
is 395, the greateft 436 : but the intermediate fpacet
according to Sfr I. Newtoj^, did not exceed 125* No

3 Other

Eixiin fMippt. 395

other arrang^mepf ad^ts^ fo many aqd deplfive figna*
tures of crediji)ility» If this date be cpnJ^djer^d as an ia^

compu'tatToir for prior and fubfequent occurrence^
future chronologers may, perhaps with fuccefsi reft
their engines od this Ailcrum, ami eveatuaHy re£lif/
cieruin (lyppthdks aflumfd^ and cpnelufions educed, in
the N,ewtp|ii^i| ^bropplogy. An experixuent, for a,
fgtppj^, may ri,Qiw^ be tried.

^ It has, with every colour of probability, beqn. <|j^
fumed^ thj^ 17 U^pw kings i^ Sjcyon, b^i^
Spopeus, ought to be retr^qhedx bfjpauC^ Om li^ inake^,
i&gialeus, its.fiift founder, 300 years olde^r thaa hi^
brother. Pbproneus. Marfliam, bi^d in favour p(
the Old Chrqnojpgy, places^ the Argive eia 2g6o y^aa^
higher tha^ the Attic ; aad copTequ^tly Phprojaeupt
^ long before Cecrops I. This computation Sir I.
I^cswtop virtually repitobates,. by afligniqg almoft one.
cpmmon date to. the capital citijss^ ^^^<>h Sicyon, s^
Athens*^

;Ca0MU.§ ^r:4 Thmm have generally been recl^one^
cofsval .with the Sxodus. Sir Uaac refers the expedition^
p£ the fprmei: into Qreece to thp 14th or 16th of
{)avid's reign, and that of the latter to the 14th of
Behohoamv Tl^. interval is 80 years. Europa,4hc.
fiftei o|.C^{^inus,.is faid to have been the mother of
4JLP^ymgn^3 one; of Danaus's 50 daughters* Thi^ dif«
pjCpporUQ^rof. agQ brings fufpicionon t^e reckoning*

« Short Chronicle, xo8o, .
.*--. Sir

.»-/-

^6 Sir I. NeWTO N V Chronohgj.

Sir !• Niwton's zcil to abbreviate the extra^itgant com^
potations of the untutored, and vainglorious gentiles^
niduced him in this, and feveral other cafes, to over-
ihoot the mark.

Riafomfir mitUipatmi ihi time ofDanaau «

Hiram's acceflion to the throne of Sidon muft
have been coincident with the 3ifl of David, becaufe

the I C^th of Hir^m was the 4th of Solomon. Marflull^

>» ■ ...... * .

Tables, aflfign a reign of iQ years toAbibalus, whofe

' ' ' * ...

predecefTor feems to have been Phcenix, the fon of

/kgenor, and brother of Cadmus and Europa. Theo*

philtis, biihop of Antioch, teftifies from documentt

extant in his time, that the Ifraelites left EgQ^pt 316

years before Danaus went to Argos. Jofephus, quoting

the fame author, Manetho, and adding the fame re^t

marks, enlarges'the interval to 393 ; fo that Danaus

emigrated from Egypt to Argos 136 years before ^the

14th of Rehoboam, and with this date the arrival of

fCadmus in Boeotia agrees. Other circum flan cesconr-

firni this arrangement. No veftige of alphabetical

compofition before Mofes is either proved or probabk*

Xhe Phcenicians acquired this art from their near

neighbours, the Hebrews ; and after the lapfe of four

cefituries almofl, it is fuppofable that Cadmus might

import the djfcovery into Greece. That he a^ually

did, is the uniform ftport of fable,^ tradition, hiftory,

or whatever evidence it was, which propagated the

imiverfal opinion of antiquity. In Greece, as in other

countries, flow was the reception, and partial thepro-

grefs.

gfefsi pf dn ^rt, (b )iapplly adapted for the expedition^
and eafe, of corferpondence ; not to mention its u(s
in perpetuatiQg the records of memorable deeds. One
reafon is obvious ; the imperfeA fiate of mechanical
knowledge, in framing the inftruments and materials
for writing, .with facility^ .compp(i|(ions; of a mpderate
fize, and portable weight. But whatever were jthe
obftacles to the fpeedy and diffufive ufe of written lan-
guage, the only example in Homer of a miflive letter,
in Greece, prior to the Trojan war, is that of Proetus
king of Argos, committed to Bellerophon *• Proetus
was the third in dpfcent from Danaus, and might be
coeval with Solomon. Long after the conclulion of
that war, fo few were written compofitions, that Ly*
curgus firft imported from Crete into Greece, a manu*
fcript copy of Homer's poems.

Ort^in of Hero worjhif in Greece*

Dr. Winder, in his Chronological and Critical
Hiftory of knowledge, in its rife, progrefs, declenfionf,
pnd revival, froni Adam to Mofes, and from Mofet
to Chrii^) flrews that idolatry was not introduced before
the general difperfion ; which memorable occurrence,
this author brings confiderably lower than his prede-
teffors in facred computation. Of his xiith chap. Ido«>
latry in its feveral kinds is the fubjcS ; — the worOiip
of vifible and invifible beings, as the luminaries and
demons, plants and animals ;— laft of all dead men. In

* Iliad, Ti. 169.

chap*

3^ Sir I. Mkwtbk*/ ChrvH^hgji

chap. XT. it is erindtt) that betd-^o^) iiif^ei lit
human (hapCf and the (fiftinAion of fbt^ anibng ^€
pagan deities, wer6 entirely uiiknowili in Eg^]^' ^^,
Oroice, it leaft befolne the giving of the law tb tbd
Ifraelites.

Theophilus of Antioch, to Whoih rtfertftctt/
concerning the antiquities of the ^tohiiz Oen^H^, 9M
fo often repeated, fofemnly attefts that the holy fe^ip^
tares, and the fei^ing of the law to Mofes, #fere hiiidlf '
tabre ancieitt than Lycurguij Sdrort^ Minosj thelftlgtf
of Jupiter in Crete, and c\^ the wir of Troy *.

It is to be kept in ttiind, that Ssftnrtt, Ju]^ife?4
Apolld, Jurto, Veflai CM», '&c: Were onfeife mdr^ife/ '
tod by the fuperRhiori and ighbraftcit df j{fcftiri*yi tMi
ovlrn cfcfcendknts/ in the fine bf fovdfdgfrty cJ^WilHy^
obtained divine honours aftclT death; Jiipteri ^lltrMf
his brothers and fifters^ confHlently with many pre-
fumptive cirtumfianc^s fcarcely inferioir to certainty/
#ad4Coevi! With CadWils and Dariatfs. ' iFbr Ciiftliui *
Iras the brother of Europa, whom Jiipitef, (to'IJJfeik '
wrthout the aid of fiaioh), coilveyed by fea flrttii PHta*.' ''
hicia into Crete*

Apollo, Neptune, and Pluto, ^WM«e the Wdtherl
of Jupiter; Neptune, by Aihymohe, thd'*datight*r df *
Dartaus, became the Father of NaiipliCiS, and'tlfus'fa
the co-ex iftencd of Jupiter with Danaus afitottained*

Sir Ifaac Newton, by an intuitive fagacity^ njfetrecl
the origin of Argos, Sicyon, and AtheiisJ td ^Ui cdnlt * -

• • Apolog. »90i' '

> mon

WOnp^mp With rffpeCl to Athens io particalar» i^
is r^ordedi that Minerva acquin^ die preference to
N(^tuqe in. giving n^ih^ to the new city, builc by
Cecrops.. In the re\gn of Cranaus . about 50 ye^
after its foundation, a certain criminal procefs,^ in n
trial fpir ^murder, {hewed the genealogy of the families
concerned, at that period of tiine. Mars, .^ fon of
Jupiter and. Juno, was, it is alleged, thc^ firft culprit
ic;faigned at the^ Areopagus, for the murder of Hal-
licptius# ,who, it feemSf had attempted to vioiate the
purity of Alcippej the defendant's daughter. In this
tri4l,JNr^ptune was the profecutor^ becaufe Hallirotiua
bsuljheea his foa.^4 Mars was.abfolved by the jii
ju^es^ who, after death^ were accounted 12 gods#

TTq the cities, built about the fame time, Troy migblt.
lu|v^ be^ ^dded, were it not much more probable tha|
ks Qrigin . was a great deal more ancient. Th^ tra-
dition i^^ that Scamander tranfplanted the firft colony
11:901 CrjBte into Phrygia, long before the golckn agCf
or rpign of Saturn. To his fucceflbr Teucer no me-
morable deeds are afBgned^ and no years fpeci^d fpc
his reign. From Dardanus to Priam, includingvbotbsi
ar<b 6 r0igns,,extending to 307 years. ; This fum taken
StQm 3.io^,t the year of Troy's ^1, leaves a remainder
of 2801 years, reaching back to more thaaaxentury ber
fore the inauguration of Saul, and alfo before the exift-
ence of Cadntus, Danans, or Jufiiter. As the defolation
efiJM city tranfcends the era of a true chronology ^ fo

* See PaufaniaSy lib. i. ch. 2!.

the

Sir I. NiWtonV Chf^nohgj.

i^vt date of its rife lies beyond the inoft re^i^ feufcitt

' ' - '' » « , • -•

of pagan hi (lory. The kings in Phryg^a were iAHstt
than the gods in Qreece. JLaomedpn the fatl&r of
Priam, having employed AppUo and Neptune in i^
pairing the walls of hi^ capital, defrauded them of their
reward, which indignity provoked Jupiter 4o nccoin*
plilh itsdeftruSion in the next reign.

Bt a (trid attention to phyfical probabilityi textlti|||r
connexiort, hiftorical confiitencc^ parallel records^ v^
rjous reading^, and ancient verfionS, it hai been attempted
to re6iify incidental mifiakes in the chronology ztA
genealogy of the facred writings. In the Newtonian:
computations are many undoubted improyettents^ which,
badefcaped the fcrutiny of the Ghriftian Fathers, and.
fuch roafterly critics of Isiter thnes^ as Pet^, ScaKger,
IJlher, &c. — improvements, exquifitely fubfeivie^t to^
giving order and form to the di&ordant atln#U of
paganifm ; and it is now propoled to coiroft thC'ii^kP.
takes intemaiogled with the very eoi)ftriiAi(}n^<ff:t)M^
New Chronology, alTuming for a fource ^: tecko|iii|gr
the date afligned by Sir I. Newton fof the, catai&ropbe
of Troy. A fpecimen has likewife been givea, f:oni
ttOhng the origin of the Greek theologj' with thej
times of Cadmus and Danaos : — an experiment hitherto
Uti^ciempted, with acknowledged fuccefs.

.* ...

ObjeSiions. •

1. <« To the fix reigns in Phrygia, prior to the cpn-
flagration of Troy, is afligned a period of 307 years,
(the mean quantity being 51), difproportipnate b;j eyccjs

>6 riw?e<iJtffe<)f miWfc.^ AhtviMir; UT the 9mgs4fi^
A*Slyfi's 1l?h»>*e^e^hidedr<h«t«hep<rio*otMm!*Jl
fife liHli inkr tti^t^ to the pf^r^cit Ikifiiai^rd ifefofe
David; fill ^tl *re tihle MAT g^mll)^ Y\v^ii6t, tft likf.

fthiiy J/hilVos, tar fes^Hlif m^rk^^ nUgti of 31, 7^,
«iid io yetn, the Ut ending ttout tb« 16^ bf Davt^
W^: The other ihrcfe >f cA in^pirt eo-^cxiflrtit- Wt A

rid, *'oi<4d years a-p5ece. '^his di()jrojlofttett is l!*l
dMfiditlMc; fn jt' more^ad^Siiieecl perf&doftha kings
ili\Jtttfa(b,'Mh^ rtrigns of fbiffi, J^^fahij .^and MatrtfTehi 'UjA t^

wi»r':|<n 5tifV *nd-i55:

' ii »>jU.*

t&attM^^«gCi» -'in lhf»^ tim&ar afligned to Cadmujt. at^
j^lfiavb,^ fii#y muft h^ve been either fuperannuated^rot
Afld> #t Uie fieg^ of Ti:oy, «fter the la^ of two cetl*
Mnelv** . lit %s.j^liedr Wte <xpe^s to Jnd coherence,
probability, or frUth, mthf gehfile mythology^ "vrhetii
fcyiirjnihiiig'. is ttait^fdrmedy ike lyian Jupiter, for'iii-
Ibnefv imoHit;fwan> then ii^to a buil^ ld& ofdiinto*-
gpd? ;A^ more ditieft aafi^r, however, adiiits the
objeAion» in its fiiU extent^ All c|ie peribnage^, above
mentioned, anid others of the.. £ime family, were both
dead and deified, before the reigns of Laomedon and
Priam. Thefe are the proofs,

I. Si&I. Newt^mon the aothofity of Pythagoras,
aflSrf)f^HM|t the fepi^cbre of Minos, the fon of Jupiter,

D d was

4^ Str I. iilirWTOil'f^ Ofrnology.

y^u ieen ia Cretq in the year, before ,X3hrUl 964^ or
the 14th of Hehobotni. Marfiuip refers iQ4be Scholj^ft
OD Callioiachiu, wbo-ieftifiedr that the word Mxhiji^i^
Jbd by length of timt been ^obliteaM* «nd ;.t^
Jupiter's ^epvlckhi only was legible,; w])ei^
the infcriptioBt nvheo o^iDpletet \^ been, ^ Tg^^i

TOMB OP MlNOS» THE SON Of JUPXT«/' , A ff^

fn%ik . of Epimenides, a poet coeval with Sc^om
Ksaignsth^ vfra^jtypf his^foun^iyi^eQ, in » ^harac-r
fcr rehearfad by, ap,ApolU% .XituSf i. i^;, •* T^f
Cretans arc^^aKray^ liars." CalUinachus,^ ^ later .poet»
in tba.idays of P^ Phil.ad?lphus, .repca;tcd,and .wc^liT
plificdjbc charge, in the. very cafy -i^w tmdef; fxa;vti*
nation. : 1* The;. Cretans are always :larS|. becaufe tHqf
j/etendedj ibat .^he . tonib of JopUeip ^wau^wiih; them 3
MFhereas they had only that of his fon Minos, (qt Jupitec
himfeif ^vl^. imtpprtal */* * Whether tbatniPi^uipent and
infcription were id' memQ^- of Jupiter, Of^^f ^ Muk;%
tite prefent aigiimeot Is ^tiot invalidate foP cither ihi
on^etor-the of her, p^b^pjB^^,' die4 before tbeoye^th^^
of Troy, and netth^jr was imoMMTtdl. /t ' ^ ./

2. £v£N after the. hero^gods ha^ ^beentenioUcd
among the celeitials; they were liable to a temporary:
degradation, and e:ciie. - Thus Volcan for a work ,1^
pietjr, towards ills: inctf her J uno^WAs^precifHtated frotid
the fummit of Olympus to the ifland of Lemnos. But

examples, ftill'ttiore appoiiteoceim: - ^^ -/^^ ^
'■'- '"• • ■ '- -*- '-^ -'- ■■^y-i^-^ .- liiJiU

♦ Sec tafriiai Hymhrim i'; ia J<JNrtin,y4li'^^ ' s ?v

-3. ■ . , .

* -■■ i ivM'l* . -ci:*."^, ii^i'r:

« '

;FlS|*»i«j

•^ ^

-1^^ . .■ .—^ «..»- •".<> >r

lifeUP'Ji^car^s7%ctirr^* the /fetefthifew ^-iA^Mdl

fetnpld^ea itt^tfl^Hhers«llI^ of the ddiidls afftd flrf

ftMelt to'ffle hbhibIe^^c«j^2kt4oilii>f a (bepbard. Abodt
the 4kme dAie/ ; k' ff6!nif,r?fc|)iUhe,:? (itot thiftkii^ :tlft
ifffl]j!re (rf'tHfe fcfei/tJtjiual t<S tSat ^t&«b^^nt heiv^fij
caiW}j1rea «ritH^ bt&Srdciflei to' iAhront J^tcr); m%
tiAdemnea' to 'aflift' Laorhcdcftr"^ ih* repairing -*df w^Hl
df^r3f.*^ After 'Jptrairt oif amb^emi ad«rentiirei;A^i&
BfciMe'-^rftW^ih.mgttthe m t^ iftg4gcmehr ay
f^a th^T^rcJ^iviJls, Oft'ltef teeffomi* cofeditibDj
llifa^ tfi^kin^ Ofd^M^ibflore tbe onKi^nts and treafures^
WHfeK had Ibej^ex^ehd^ in fh8' fortifiaaflons. • Iironf
^ear^y ^orie^if fT^iffiedf 6»' I^oaiedbr hav&fg de^
fi&MtW^mAhe ircWtitSy A^oUb feht a defimdivd
{$^fi4ceaxttbn^^1gs^fdbjeasr'Ne^^ laid wade hia
i^iiik^iif inmHtidiiS I ahd Jupiter, tef^nting tto
^tftay,"a^afyea^^ifttferlft^^ *e ru&l of the kingdom
and capital*. Thefr^iv^^^orks prbper to deities J
^^^r^l^ifiMUteftn, V carious ^latue of Minetva,
M?£S,'lttc<ifding f b thtf* ofticlef of fiftion, was let dowa
frbrtlidfvfen; 6^^ the tent of Ilus, the 4th fovereigit
iSf^Dltittiy^^irbile that prince was Tearmg the citadeli

* Thefe coincIdenceBrof eventSf perfonageSy'abd dmes, jn«
dicate the particular perfad when jSBfculapiHs, the ion of
Apollo, and go0 qf modi^npt fiouri^^- liqmtrj{l\i^, iv. 193.)
mentionlnz., Machaon> the fon of JEfculapius^ among the
heroes atlVoy> confirms this arrangement,

D d 2 evinces

404 S!^ !• Nzwtok'/ Chr^ctogf.

evinces that the goddefa had pfevioufly retired fcpm 4he
ilage of mortality. Anqiently deification was a cenp^
mony not indulged to the living. It is OKntioi^ed as a
circumflance without precedenr» that divine hozwuTA
were paid to fome of th^ Cefars before death.

3. Ohje^ion.

*< The Romans compute the chronology of their
gods differervtly from the Greeks." True ; hut the
inore recent nation aflumes a lefs remote term. Both
vvor(hipped the fame Jupiter, the fon of Saturn, audi
Sovereign of Crete., By the Greek reckoning hff..wa»
coeval with the Phcenician Cadmus, and. the CgyptiaA
Danaus \ and all three fiouriflied in ^he Ute. y^ars. .o(
Samuel's gove/nn^^nt : by the Ron^aq, with David iMid
Solomon. T^e fall of T^oy ha§ be<yi fixed iff the 78XI1
year from the d^ath of JSpJowon. ..Ovid introducjw
Ajax fupporting his cl^m .^9 the anspur of Achijles^ \f^
the conCderation xhat ht was. the tUrd.iji defceat iuOA
Jupiter, w|io, b]f allowiiyi thi^e^ gen^rati9ijs fpf ,%
century, was, a mpcal king^. and cpfyal with DaijidL
But if his rei^n were likewifc; co-ej^ifi^nt with t^e rife
pf theBceotian Thebes, in the days pf Cado^njS) he^ipuft
have been dead lor^ before. theQvw]irow of.J^xfiju
Ja the fia»i'ioiKj theology of p^apiftn*. the a£lioi^ ^
this and the other mortal heroes are qfcen blended, in
promifcuQus. caqfufion^ with, thoie .of t^e^ immoital
gods. In like mwner- the , Greek, chronology m^kes
Venus, the mother of Hermione, coeval with Cadmus;
and that of the Romans repfef^tits her as the mother

^4

'/ ♦ « «/

■ f

. V

WMtH^. "Fdr tihis dilRrence rid feafon can be'af-
figrted, except on the ftrppdfitiott', that diftlhft teriifis Wert
iSmaii fbr the hvte torttputatiohb. '

• Rome,

-^ When the Greeks «id Ldtines were formiti^
tiftfir Techtticai Chrofiolog\'s g««&t Wetvs the difpute^
ibout the ahtiquity of Rome, tliie Greeks made il
dbuch older than the O^yitipiads ! foibe of them faii)
ir was built by ^EHeas ; others-Hy Rbmus, the fon or'
gra(tt<Jfonot,/?&neas^ others by Romus, the fdrt of
grandfon of Latinus^ king of the Aborigines ; other?
bf RofnuS) the fort of Ulyfles, or of Afcahiusj bt of
Itatus : and' fome of ttie Latine^ at firft U\\ in wkff
t^e opinion of thsGfkeks^ tsyii^t ^^ it was built by
Romulus the itm or grantiA)ni of i^&aeas. TimsfeuY
Siculns reprtffented it buih by RoiAutuS, th^ granc^on
of /fifieas, above lOo years before the Olympiads ; and
fo (^d Nid^vius the poet, who Wa$ %t> years oIA^r thsiii'
finhite, affid fiMVed ifi tte firft Punit wur, the hiftorjr
of which he Wrote. HithettO tlbrhitlg ceft^ih ^atf
algr^ed upon* But about 140^ iSt t^^ ^r^^afte^-fhe
dte^h of AleitXnder the Great, tb<«y begm tb f^, thtti-
RoiA^ wiis built af fecotid time by RbnitifM^ in the
r5fh age after the deftrnfikion of 'tto^. By ages the^
Aettm* the reigns of the Latine king.<} at Aiba, knd*

" r ».

itjbkom^ tixr firft X4at ^ut 432 y€arr

* Chiron, p. 128. %

v^ D d 3 This

^ Sir I. NjJWT<Wf^i .<*lW»tf#xy*

J V This ViA(nkAeataaefMion'of'j,iiiie$'psi&pph^
h Abridged fronr^Jpion^iius of iHaiicafnafflisif^« ;, wbol^
feftUnoxiy XQcrilt raoott ciedtV *si&j^ vbttcbor ,of aa^icrt
toditiom^ihaaisan anfbenticj iccoid of -hA^. Ons
idBiDiblc^'jchiooobgidaI*'Chini£leri tii^ioaverthniw of
TToy» Sir L^Ni^wton ' has } afoertained <^hy ^ jr t inrooefsof
^rations in tc%totdagy the Defutecflwbiokik- equina*
leot, to demonibaticuii*n;.The ^itfrdi&ayersd^>AjM^
^08^ derives xonfirmatiot^^ from )» ij^itiplioity oC
toinddenc .events, jn 4he podigvefs^ of 'families, and
the .records. o£ kingdom, which ^lor only esforee coM
yifUon, hoc reduce to 'aaabfufdity,. eveiy f^et^nfioH' 10
coDtradi£lory evidenicc. • ' -*■ ; - P '■ '*

By this left, leuthe^prebmed date of tk^ firft Olyaih
pi4dj«i)e tried*. V. To thep iStfa of jehoSiaptar,' AiMn,
^08, $idd 432, . the film 3540^ eontihuel^fhef etkoni^^*
to^Aeifp^ of^^Xcnm, king 'Of Pecfia,^«rithe^4t|i:
yesa^4)ffhe52d£>l)smpiad,* counted from the 'leftotntfoa*
^f that epoch by Iphitus) -A* Mv323^. <Sif4. Newtoii;
seprobating this arrangement as.exorbitanf^\ha8ree6brfe
to an^ ecjuation, which brings the laft^ yt»r of tMp
Xatine kings down to the 38th Olympiad. ' ^'<;

' By 14, the number of the kingSy divide 43^1 tUfr
duration of their reigns^^nd the quoli^t^^^Nprill be the
lyommon meafure nearly*. This iljufirious'etirtffaor^ afligtif^.
iiig but 20 yearsai'piece'to each fovereig^i'^utor-tfte
lotal fnm from 432 to 280. This eqditioh in ftiH
exceptionable on the fcole' of c«ceff. ^tr 'ji^*f»

fiiort««^ teritf>.imilt be allowed^ forathe* i^^ yftg^lH;
iatiuin pAar to^ R(^Ius. Our worthy v|U£(»fnier 4^
ancient ebrouolqgy badjt;wojufttfi«^^-iiietiu>(bi(ofi<^
joflang. Joiiilory by the joint ..aid^ of generajt^on^janl
reign|i>:--eiUecjKliidedL1k:b,kin(i:09<hait done oodiiqg
nemoraiile^todr fiscnied^ £aU uodei .tbedar&:of Utopia^i
princes, .^aginary cbara3Qc%. inferted m^^nat&mal
cakn4ai:5»a!Qli .ipur{K>r(;,.ta amplify , the. accoamt&.iOf
UiBO$^Trand> abridged £etgns,:^pa^ntly toaloi^ Xi$,
Humfn^Q^^if ^ccpfd with the couciit Q£jnaturc» iXibkly.
admits a query, whether many of Jthe ki^gi bctwcco
J^&^tr\A ILomulus, were not ^Ikopiani.j .... d
//Jf. frpmjb^ date of thereibredOlynipiad^dieodeqf,
defied il^i^ar of Troy's dowjcrial^ (that; ki^ 232-1^
^^&;;;i24)« therefult of the q>eraition is the albono^
;imcai interval }fi and why ihould hiftoricalarrangemenff
be iC«iiflru£ted, in contradiiSipn < to , phy ficat trUthi
iaJ^tft;P«ifeg^ abpve^ quoted imoiediately from.^ir^-fc
Jgjpwj^niW^beimtboxity of JXonyfias the Hal^arn^fliatt^
is recorded tl^s leftimony of feveraJvancient.mritQ^,
4pri<:^r ija ti^ tO; Alexander therGreat], whofabeiiif it
jffas^, :that,a,gFaodfa<!, or gr^t.^vAodioa^ ot>Mmi»^
Ji^;tbq ibuadaticip of Rome ; . wiietliec Bs)mMlwft'ia»4,
jl^miijf^jM^^, tJK £pUQdera» oreithei^ i^.^^aindiffe^f
'^ff\^a4^^yJ Sirifaachas overlxjpkeda reiparKit^f
Jji%M?y|iu^ whi^h i% *^Jh^t,Ceph.4lo^ ^ yjeQ^:,arjiySPf
author, referred the building of Rome to the fecond
generation after tbl^ Trdjafi * v('af| "^ by a colony who
^^ V D d 4 efcaped

fot Sir L Nnncotf ^i CkmnUbgf.

iicapoi horn Tro)^ willi iEneasf( t^ac it|ril«MA4lr 1»if
Renmis the leader of the cokHiy ; tiMt \k I|m< Ji ibi|
ef iEaeas, aii()- that RoMidiit ivM t)iie of iiMf^liMAef^

Bjrthe^bB^fathcri' rOeniagoris, Agatlit^ attl

liMh]N>riidfl^ ^rie ^theidrcvitiftante of t$m^ ^ind in^
the ' coiido6lo^ - of Hie expledftionr*. . ^/^Dioi^ifiaff . aids
satiy reftimonies of Roman writers^ wild maliitadiifly'
affirmed that a Tfojan-eblbfty 'fettled m I w rl y f oon after
the Trojan -wan ^uid that Ronfe wat tiUIt'^ftef tto
fecort* generation in thrtiYie'from^jGoikifr.^ Air imthiF^*
dPi5 generations, 'Sir Ifeac Ncf#tbfe^^iltftSi' ^^TTnei^
pretended ifll after the Yife of * tWfc Gitek Enafplr^,' fee
ftiH centOrics after tiie^cotoftagratlort of TVoy'j' ' * '
Th E more anfcicnt ^ritets of aH natiOril rievdt' itt-
CliHed- the cenfat^ of a(foaing''an extfaVagint aniJqifiiyi
AftToog thfc ]^4 Mofes \*ras ta^e *ni6defa^^tliah ^ofAi?
jrtWJ^,' ah*- fhK iifofe a«iti*ettt * authors itt ^Greece "aitj
:^Wc, tfian their fncceffors. ' This confidcAtidn 'top- '
ports the not improbable conjefliire, that the hitefvifl^
from th6^ ]()^riod of the Trojan v^ar to f he fifflPOtympia^
btt been prottaded to a dhWtioA v^hrch n^ c^^A^S^
canjaftify,^oreven credulity adttiie:-^ ' ' ^'^ * ^' «-
- Suppose, vhat Srf K NbP^tofi wJir nof'iJItoHir, that*-
thfe Varronian era was Ar tWtd df ttte'AH (^mpikd^
or^the- 23d from the feftorifidn df that cHt^ttofbgital'^
telhii, Home be^n to be buik t^^^ jtid ^S^fxhitWt
(^ Troy. For i24.+2jr:»47 \-^^t» ^tSi>\^)^i±^
A/M. 32S5;conicidenlJ wi*theti*t«*d*ll^^

;. r. Cl and

iuiite^Mihat>i6cl»0i^ 'boWl^ <il^l.atilitlt^^ahd^<9Lome ai^
tobe reduced^^ But the latter daufe ^ tbd*ix>ftiiliM>
)iv|ia(iM££l»hi; b^^fe tia^fttieme of hHkiril^! arrange^
iMmtin >¥ t p<k tf te the >prop>iet3»^ ^bv trvth) of ilefermg,
tbe accefllori^of llofn«h«f er therongin ^of hiscapitaV
tio»ihef38tli <34yMipiad» That/ great maamigbt^ with*
dot the leaft fuijpickm of violating phyficaIf]»3Dbabilit)V
kaive icalfKnchc4 tfae^ number. of the Latian lingiA : Bjr
14 divide J4.7, the refult. is Ko years 6 iii9Qlb$ each*.
Thefo r^ignf are Aorter. by ooe half than. Sir. Kaacts
w)liDgy..4B atb^r.^cafesy to admit. At . the raite of . 5.
mgQ$ f^f^^QcntrnVf^nd proportioa^y ibr the^'efiduaiy
si^ioiiertr /ey^P .Jtif^rm^diat€ prii^peii migKi exhauA-tb(|t
{fW&Q ifomfW,i^ioiTfQyt9 the rife of Rome, equwa?^
lent to ahpul^ frtur gen^ratioii^ of 33 year;l on& wit]|r
another.

XhJE date^ affigned in the Chronology ofancUnt Kingr
dom spt0vd(4f iot tbe AabverfioQ of Pnam*« capitals iff
iJi reality that fixed point, whence commences ccjitaintjr
ib '^omputatioiif by the i^ation^l eru of paganifrir;
lieeaafethe time of that cataflroplie is defined, by a
clufler of chronological notations, which bring into coin*
cidence the hifiory of tlie Hebrews, with that oi the
co*ex|fting pagan efiabitfhments. Some of the more
notable fynchronifms, in the natural order, are, by way^
of recapitulation, fubjoined.

I. jEHOSHAPHATt

• • >-

41^ Sir L tHmvcit *i ChttikoUgf.

t. j£HO&HAPHAT, Ahabf andEtbbaal, .weiee^nr
tempora^'fevietistgnsirt Jemfaleniy^Samanai^and Sulon ^
Iq: Ahab mvfied Jezebel the daugbtffr of £thbaal>^and
^bolhaphat't .fi>n» Jebofaixi» married Atbaliah» the
4lAighter oC Ahab. • ■ ik .A^

r»2* TroY' was laid in aib» in tbe feigns<jof thftfime
j{&hofhaphat and Abab^ . at alfo in that\ of Agenor»
Belus, orMatgenus, thegrandfenhofiEthbaaK <}-

-^ 3. New Saiamis in Cyprus was foofided feVenycasa
ifittx the conflagration^ of. Troy» by. .'B^er the (iMi of
Telamom- in wbofe.&milyi the fovereigniy oontimied
iif^en cenunies^ in th^t ifland. .. h\* -j-^ Li-^n- ,n
;/ i 4. i£N E AS about the iame time bocameTthe fitfrher of
lings, ^ a new feries^'iover^LatiuaryipTiofto^iloniukuu
This feries ^tontains 14 nitmess to wtofe^eigns^isf (a&
figneda period of 43a.'yeaft| which; Six.^iJ^ewtdn/iii^'
dnces to 280 *« The annexed Table will perhaps evince^
that even the lefs n)imber exceeds the truth.

♦ Such is the diverfity of natn^s^ that the nuji^jcr off^-
TCigns, and the order of fucccflion, cannot eafily be afecr^
taincd. ^neafi the father of the cobny, to whom' Diony-
iius afiigns a reign of 7 years from the fi^D of Troyt'ls^daded*.
This little addition makes the fum total 434» as m4^ ncst,
p^ge. But the number of reigns th\te enlatgtdi Exceeds 19
by unity. ::..-*

..-.•;>

Ovxo«

I "!.*«•

Ili^Etf ftSMQSS.i

4>f

m m ^ 'm »

- ^E .' -a :

• a . .

DXONYSX05.

iUcaniuft.

: AGantos

: iEneas •

AfoBlillS'^H v

3»

fiyivum:.':

-.Sjtlvius.f :

Afcanius

, '.Sylvius .

29

:

u£neas

Sylvius

i£oea9

3»

irfBlipMS' :

:Li|ioQS^>: ,

. Latinos

51

AJba,.

Alba

- AIb.1.:..

Albas :

39

Epytus

:Syi¥iiis» Athb. hfit: -

;.Capetcis

26

Gi^rv

. Cflpys

CapyiB :

.Capys :

.a8

iCapetus^

Gaipetiis

CalpetuSv

Calpetus

*3

Tibenous:

-Tiberinus

Tibejinus ^

8

Agrippa

Agrippa

Agrippa

Agrippas

4t

iSLeimiiiis'^

ftemiilus :

Roinulus

Aliades

»9

Aveittnitt&: A:v«mious

^ Aventinui < Avenunus

37

Ff oca

Bracas

iProqa

•

Procas . .

23

^AtnuHus-

AmuUus,

Amulius

4»

42s

In thele foiir editions the names, and order of fuc*
ibn, are too much at variance to acquire the credit
due tQ authentic records. The numbers taken from
J^nyfius dp not amount to - 4^2. He afligns indeed
ff years to the firft j£neas and his predecelTor Latinus ;
which fill the blank. Proper, but inefEcient, is
Sir Ifaac Newton's fcheme for reducing the quantum
of thefe reigns from 432 to 280 years, as it has been
ihewn, that the fpace, between Latinus and RomuluSf
cannot exceed 147 years. Abfolutciy ncceflary it is
tp retrench the one half of the nominal kings, that the

arrangements

'i

4i» Sir 1. VtWIMkU O^hff.

afrangementa bjrgenerafiomsaiid reigiis may eorrefpcmd
t6 the aational eras', bf wKich thehiftoty af th^ titati
hHid he j^}u§iei. « . -. s« -.

5^ D10O the greit'igrind-daogbtef i<jf Ethbaal hH
the foundation of Caftb^e in the iSth^jf^r from tBe
46ib>ation of Troy, at-fmaerly ttentioiNNiv ia m-^KHtu
^nce with fundry chrdnologioal chaittfiers. At the
biftory of this iie# ftate it incdcp^mted with that^df tha
Roman Empire, the timie ol its origin^ 'is aA acqulitiMl
of no fmill impottance. •■.•', ' r ,.. .t. .,;-

' '6. A. M. 3232 'iMttcs reft^red «che 4&rtxk
Otympt^d 114 yeart afrerthe conchifiofi*<df th«Tr0Jaii
War, ahd 7 tfter the foilndattoil ^f Carthag^*^ it
tTTiot alleged that this year was diftinguifhed' by the
^hibition of the ufual folemnities, but that isaAnMd
to be the tme foarce whence the irti'Ckcvihtirtgftimfi
bf four years, charaSerifed as the original* Olympiad,
begins. One invariable criterion difcriminates the
years- on which prizes were adjudged to the viftors—
^y were BISSEXTILE. This appropriateancTexclQ-
five mark of the periodical quadriennium in Greece, is
the more remarkable, as prior in time to the knowr
ledge of the agronomical reafon, which requires the
intercalary day : for it is.oBferved by Mr. Coltard^
f< That the tiine is uncertain when it was difcoverea
that the true length of the folar year was 365}. days ;
but probably not much before the time of EnHoxus, that
is, 363. years before our era:'* or, 413 fubfecjuent to
tl^e era of the relloied Olympiad ♦. This noted terrii

"^ • ^ec Costard's Aftronomy of the Andeirts,^x746, p. 36.
*'^ ' 5 of

by t|ie.MGneka# the -{biirce of hutoki^a^ jAme^
But h^ adds, *^ Tbs fabulous ages wanted a ge^d t^on
adogy, and To fd&>>'ddid ilie hiA«i:ioal^ibf th^ &rih6o.or
TOOlympiadsr^.- ^ -.^*

Iy this populate be i mpltci«l}r gdaiitted','tb^ iHuftrious.
author's arrangement, which ^e&rs th^ ^rfdati^in -^
Ronns^td th^^Stk Olympiad, ia iiivolved in aH fbtf
ttncertainty of the fabubus ages) nay, it may b(f doubled
whether the firft yc^-of the 68th Olympiad were thi;
mce datjs^^af the ritegifuge; as is aflcrtedyiFvithom a
peradveatui^ii** .-.^ppofe the couAilaie i^tiedacHf^
with. the:ien&iing^ J^e^ir^^ thia iaiportafit re\H|l|ittofk ia
charaflerift^d byn.v^fry ambigoous > point sin. liiziei^io?
that- ifi^perGeptible line- which divides the biiiofficAl

ffiom theh&boJoias ages* . .</' ^ - ^ ^ .•*,>

^^y In the year of the wcrfld 3255 was the founda-
tion ^ Rome laid, 147 from the fall of Troya.A3g[
fiom th& rife of Ci^diiag^, and ^ (rom,tfbe revival^of
(bo -Qlyxapiiid j;<i Sir JU Nevv^Oft'^ fa& andf growdtefii

' •• *

* Cliron. p 44. 't Chron. p. ijo.

% Sir I. Newt oil ikys, tihat Vlrro computesthc firft of
Rdaiefrom the firft of t*e vift^Qlyit^sd, Cfaron. p. 119. Tfifh
evroneousdatd k, wHhout the leait Aifpicion of ianaoy, copied
irom Di^iiy(iu» t|M Antiquary, Ifti. I. c 72. In the 74th chapter
of the fame book he remarks* ^ Porcius Cato adopts n0
Grecian account, but being no lefs accurate in colledting
ancient hiftorical fads, than the very beft writers, he conncfts
the buMng of Rome with the 43 id after the taking of Tr6f.
This term, compared with the tablc^ of £ra.toftheQe{?, coia«

ddet

494t Sir I. llssi^t^v'i^Ohhiohff.

the 38th Olympiad, 4i}^r»lbe c^itfuM Qf'-mSi^gft^iiwf.
metj^chronifm. The yfori protraHal is here fitly ufed,
iox c^taixj^.^^ist tjbit the work :,ii^.^un 130 ye^^c^
CQrIier* The Olympiad from its reftorattim ilid not
immdBately become a general term in reckoning,* ei^en
»fnong the Greeks. If the Romans, after feverat ceh^
l^riest: began to copne£l their own hiftory with :t)^|^
chronology of the Olympiads, their DOtatioBt^-v^cfupHf
forted by varions probabilities of ^d6rt3iiiiti^,' ^m^iftyt^itdr
^ reie^d,. as^f doubtful credit. ^ Qn.^^&fopt, EtUtvo*
yipi, and otbers,v wJ)p; aflign j^ third(^r>|^, fitb
01y>mpiad for tbfJL ^iA^rical orig^iof ..Roiafl^; are^not
fa be (oQpefied-.of credulity pr fal(eb9od^ !>' ^'^o-^t^--'"

cidcs with the firft of Olympiad irifv .If CatOM/oUowed^jno
OrcejL cbronolo^er^ be ^ventured tQ Introduce a cpmputation
of his own. The firft iTarronian year of Koine did coincide
fo' Jantar^ Aif. J. jp^t, with wh&h month be^i'A. tJ. C.'i f
j^ tHt^^tiiM'year ofthe vHh Olymj^ifld^^iNlcl (dxmt th^
lime^the enfiting funsBifr foKtice. 'Bf th^^^^CoAfiilii^
tl^q^ fourtli .of the vith Olyropiad is the prft^ of Ron^g
^d, by the Catonian era, this date is brought one year lower^
itill. Unavoidable is the conclufioo thai Dionylllis and Sir
I. Newton fell into a mtfttdce^ when fhey aifihned fei fyn-^
cfirt^ntfin of the Vi^onran epoehr wiUi the^t^^of "lldb ttiUm
Olympiad. With an obvious neglect of propriety, does the
gireae antiquary €odRe4l'the Arft year ^of Romultte with the
third of the Varxoaiatf era. ' •- -' < v' ^^ ^-aw

From

: -F|H>II Dton^'fitM *' are coUeAed the ioHawiag Jtp4f
pi;f(ite:iiQ^tionS):. c^pFiefling tbev4i»tes of reigns. ^. m:.

REIGNS. DATES. AUTHORITIES.

RoitouKis ^ ' :^m{>ri(U t vH. Bbok$and'€ha|^ i: x4r7

TuUw rfoftjliu^. .... - . z xxvii. , Hi. jl

Ancus Marcius 2 xxxv. ili. 37,

Tarquinius ^fcus a xli. * 13. 47.

Srviusttiffius''^'^' ' • * 4 •■ 1. - *■-'- ■ ■' ir;--<s

T«<^Slqp«rUii:: > 4 Ui. . ' .ir.. .^X*

firtttu&^C9Uj9itm^s^tl^firftp)ur 4 Ixyiii. of f^oaiCuls. v%' ^«

Thus the reigtty of Hi€ fcvtn kihgs, from Rcwtaailus
to-thefiI'ftpairof-CoMfuh^exclu(lveIyy amount' to 244
yeart. The 4eatbnV "which ' milhatd afgainft Sir'^t.
Newton*s redufiion of thehi td i f ^'^ Hftve alitbdj heen
fet forth at large ; and if the objeflions, to the abbre-*
f iatioh of refgns, be fatlsfaSory ^ arid 4tifurraountaHIe|
no induceAicnt occurs for bringing the date of the Var-
ronian computation forward tp the. year before Chrift
627,as in theSHO&TCirRONicxiE»T(M penetrating
ismthor feemsno have been awarv^ fhat bis' fcbeme Mr
bringihgihe^ overthrow 6i Troy sfaiof! jfooyears lovr#
^nan the general' opinioni would not'^sfcape the rod of
cnticifm* He therefore judged it proper not to

incur the fufpicion of compreiling, at <me bold operas

' . »

>f, At Diof^rfin^efrofc^fdly .adopts the Caton'aQ rcokoning^
which brings the feveral dates two; years Ipw^er than tibueVavr
ronian, the acceflion of Romulus triuilbe computed from the
3d of the vith Olympiad, the firil confulate from the 4th o:
the Ixviithy and each intermediate date carried two yearj
higher.
. tion,

4iS Sir I. NkwtoK V Cfmdtridgy.

cioto, 432 years into 124. iriucli - 1110ft ^^MUri# tl
was to e)(tend an expedient, of gnukiil MMaebnenl
througb-676 ooipiDal years, comprebenclii^ ai i;qgns»
adl whicb leigns it vas judged advUahtr to fetaii^ Jmi
to exclude 277 years, as incompatible mth di^ coorft
of nature in generations.

Suffice it to have rnentioned, without jn intent
to amplify, certain . inAances of deviation it^wm^ t})^
truth of chronology, htAory, and nature, m ^otaqbcdt
parts of this extenfive work, k mull nyt, h6wev«rv
be dtflembled, that i»rtaia decifions jq£ ^l;)ift«^reat JD«fter
in cQviputation^ cootradiA aifiHped priacipios^ . and
lbakejhc.foundaiiQn of pre*eftabli(b?(i diicoveries.

WiTMa i^iciiyof uniting difpexfed matc^^l^ .(/I
caknt jafanoft peculisHT to himfeif)^ i^r L. NfwjtoR fpund
ttet Cactbae? vi^a^dcflxoyed A.lP. Jul 4 jfijS;— that i|
had flood- 7SJ.iWJ»r*4^tb^ it M bwat^lmyt A. jp^
Jul. 3S31. £a^y it^viras to lecoUeft ti^it ti^ ]{eii^
iriieD^Ianbegf^ w|mi ;oy^r(biovgir c y nci4pi wi^ fjb«
4pS(lblGQP t^ £(Niindation of Rome; : and that 4S6^
-M^^SS^Oi which gperayw c^MirijiiOT. tfacvyecfcoQigg
back 10 the find half <»f thetisuKl jne^c in ,lhe jMj^
Olyroidad, jor the true fiMirorof ;tlN$:Vaiiipnis|i^iepo^
Thui Sir L Newtga's priodpleit fi|i^ . appliqd»,,i|if
validate his own deciiions : for 3960— '3831=:: 129*
by which ^pantiey Carthage was older 4iM Rodie.
But if the foundation of the latter ikrtie 1^ after tbf
lapfe of 38 Olympiads, the diiFerence in time is 266
yeats* Befides the . incongruity of fliifting tenns# the
age of Carthage being meafured by the years of]^p{|je»

computed

foizijiiiM'fr 6tK 01yiDpiad/an<! theh this Ibiinda-

fitpeSt m the Arte ttf the fwo 'dtie^ but dimifiiOi^
With idfpeft to ttetefri#)of tk^exiftdbce. This mode of
c6fb{kitAiofi h^ftmUes fome' of i&eplaafible i^tfydes^in
Idgic. Befides thi^ obviods ineongrdk|r9 anoAer add
ff&ttr ptrflexky occHti. ' The firft Putfic war b^NAe
oiit' idilfe itlMr eohfulaii^ fixMci fhe expcilfiori ef ibe
kfiigs ; A. ClaUdtiit Caiide*, ihi Mi Fnlvias Flateds,
tHer^ hoMii^ tte fklbes. Sir i&ac'all6wi bdt 119
yl»H for th6perik>a elf tnoilirdrjr i' aifd f SS-f-l t9!:s367,
dtifiotes the yeai^ of iftdtiie accdrdiiig b thi^ CHi(ONd*
LOGY of amcidst kiogd6mi afflboded^ at the cMl-
njtocettiefit df die firft Piinic tfrar. By the &tne
aiithoritjr C^arifiage Md HlbdA $6j ytkH. The Veiy ik^-
pbfition that Rome, at fo vi»ry (iariy A pmod. Was more
tBan a mirth for Caithage, esthibita die afpefl of fome-
thil^ more than a hiftorical pf^radtM.
' t. l^tlnt €ttL' y^i' ftoiii the VanroDiah En^ incln-
fiVely, biff^ tbt bm&ai eompotatiOQ called The Era of
Nabteafiar, on tte pattition ttf the Aflytiih Emjite
b^hhn ittd TigUiflirPUef<^r; Btftop BevMdgd ei^tols it,
at a vefy accurate charaSer of Times, add incapable of

An actount of its form, diediariiftti, and quntity,
if iAcdhnpadble with the nanowliinits of this Appendix.
At a tetinii cq m p u t nio n it obtahied a general and

* Hac cpoeha nihil ia to^ chronologia celcbrius^ aihU cogaitu
nuigia iii^eflarium» utpote qui eaadtiflimua , eft tea^poruni
dumfter, ct fallere fiddas. loAit. Chronol. lib. ii. cap. t6. i»

E « almoft

4x8 Sir L Ne WTON 'x Chrmhgj.

almoft cxclufive fcccptlof}^ oyc/r Affyria, GbaJdca^
Egypt, Mcdi^, and Pcr^. \yith it^ firft jrcar Pt9lcapy.
b^an hU very learned pcrf9rn[un<^ thfii MafhcBiatifal
Syntaxis, and Dean Pr^eai4x.^.cxc<ikn| Qqnpsxj^^^
of t^Qld and New Iff^i^^nient Hiftpiywith that of
Faganifin. It fecves as an.iff|je^|il^le direQory for thf^
cbronplogy and: l^iflory of the tiqi^s^ under, the fuc*
celljive monarchies, during, the bgff^^pf^ nine; cc^ta;:ks^^^

Th/vt yj^xy eminent authqr,: coi)^im(f|S., hi$ valua()le
MfOfk down to the tim^ of M^ Anto|imu$| andj, nof
wuhout . otvyipuS' proprietary conc^flctt 1^^ r^fearcj^eSf
after having afcertained a fuQci^x^f iiumber of fixedt
periods, which may be prolonged^, indefinitely in the
prpgiefliye feries of ye^s aiifl|C€^turig5» . for cpf¥dtt£liag^
future adventurers through the thofpy. pat})s of chro-.
nqipgical difquifition. Such. ^as,. the yftitex of thefe
iheet^ found them. . The. (apguj^p %^? 9^^ ^^^^^^\&
theufcfuldifcoverieapfhis iagfnicjH? ani!fam?<* Bff?-
deceflbrs, for faeilita^jqg. progrefs, in, ff^qr^d literature,
has prompted him to ftrike out, in m^y eafes, of-
difficult inveftigation,^ n^w ti^ct^J^rlumfeJf^ cautiQU^i
on the one hand, of ximovation, and on the other, of.
intpraperat^^qe^ftirc. , . ,;.

The primary inducement to an enterprize 1^ COQ?-:
plicatod and exteiifiye, \fas. the cprfe^Upn of xii^c
nuipbfxs, fek^iyetofaqi^y.-Bg^igfF^a^^^
which| feemingly at mutual ▼suri^^if^^^^Q^^^S^R?^?.^^
nature, or intuitively abfurd, either mar the fenfe, or
impair the credibility, of many Ilaeb notations in the,
facred ;volumesr For the attainmiebt of an end fo

9 aeurablet

Fixed Periods. 4f4^

dffiriblo,: te<$$Hrie wa$! J^ to various expedients, ^ud

intORvaUi of lijj^ defoeitf fjrom a fail anc^ftor^ i& the.
fole bifo of tbe facised^Uronplpgy, cbfi^a.i^h^APP*
fpace of 25 centuries prior to the Exodus '^rt^ififi^ zf^
the ihrpired writers MWre dirked to nupibefr thft yi-
termediate generatioris. &01A th^ cre^itiiofi to 6m'i^f9^;r^
it ieemed rejafonaUe to condlude» that genealogjF 14 d»
ingredient, eflentialto oettaiiit^ in the compuQEilion:' p£
times, to remote. . '\

WitHOUT.arobemeofxhronology framed facconiing
to the natural meafuresiof tkne,.:and to inftitutedcdm*
binations oi its integral parts,, that accuracy in com-
putation, which excludes the pcfffibility of deccftfibiiy
ifr not attainable.

Suppose a hiftory conftru&ed; on fuch infallible
principles, it muft extend back to thq primary fource of
meafured time, otherwife that, radical point, whence
PROCREATION beginsj cannot be afcertained*

The Bible Miftory alone mentions a beginnikc
ofcomputationrby natural days. Thefe are combined
into weeks; thefe into ninths, fo denominated from
periodical afpe6b of the moon ; and months into years.
Yeaii. are diftitiguifhed iitfo lun^r, liini-folar, folar-
te*c^ical, andfidereal. . Wh^eyer might. have been the
-forqfior.dimenfions of the civil ye^rs, in diverfe ages c^
cHmatesy the folarrtropical of 365d, 5.h. 4&m. ^73.
wasi the fiandard of computation among the Patriarchs,
Hebremrs, Ifraelites, and J^ws. Hence it is: coIle3c4
that their computations were oonf^rn^able: to. the natural

E e a ^leafarcs

\

I

4-2© Sir I. Newton V Chronology^

itieafures of time, in its various integral paits« Years to© *
were combined into larger integral parts, of unequal
quantity, called intervals or jixed periods,
inrhence new terms in computation, eaich beginning
with unity.

CoMP(7TATiON derives additional certainty Iroin
the periodical folemnities of the Jewilh worihip, re.^
gulated by the phafes of the moon, and adjuiled totb^
apparently annual circuits of the fun.

By all thefe, and many other expedients, fuggefled
froiii natorai phenomena, iii cbmiexton with infiitutions
civil and facred, has it been attempted to define the
number of days, weeks, lunations, (blllices, equinoxes,
and aftronomical years, from the primeval week to that
of our Lord's refurredbn. From the vague, fiBitious,
and contradidory annals of paganifm, impolTible it.Js
to folve a problem, for which operation theSi^hle alq^e
afibrds fufficient princ^les. The paft (juration of |be
folar fyfiem is a difcovery,, derived ible^y ||rom t^e
books of Mofes : and the ancient hiftpry i^i[ tbe P^^"
wot Id muft be adjufted to thkt fiandar4» fV^ the^^red
Kiftory to the annals of the gentiles*. ^ , , .,, . „. .. v :

Though unequivocal and deciCvc ia %hf^ m/^ ^
the natations of times in the book^of Mofes and the
Prophets, yet it i^ with truth affirmed, ffiit^fiaff^^iWti^
tions have not yet been generally underftood, s^^|uqi«
cioufly applied. Foreign cKronologers, fuch^j^^^ger
and ^etau, niiftook by many years the firftipfllDtDlin
hiilorical time. C^^ur revered countryman, Sif i&bc
Newton, leCe this point unexamined. Bedford and

Kennedy

FixtD Periods. 421

Kennedy rectified Uiher's primary term in compitta*
tioo, but retamed all his fubfequent mifarrange m entau

iv the for^gbing Analyfis^ the Hebrew teictof the
Pentateuch has been adopted as the model of ocvOr
piltaticdi prior to the birth of Abram, ia';th6'i,3Ptl^
year of his father Terah. To the critical aiitiQtatipa$
ofWiil,' Kennicott, Mill, Kufter, Wetftein* J5awyer^
aild othen^* tti^ author acknowledges his oblig^ti^MB^
for ^^sttioos readings in the printed and manufcriBt
copies of both Teftamettts, by which feveral nun^^k^l
mift^es fet^Been redified. In forae cafes parallel
tfilci^i iti%thcrs the courfe of nature^ or hiftoyrical x:«>n-
xiexi(jn,1ikv'e'beeh admitted, as equivalent to the puf bp-
rity of approved various readings in particular ^^sof
thidiP'ver-fions., efpecially thofe of. the earlieft dat^. „

The writer of thefe papers reftri£l^d his enquifieis tp
thofe numbers alone, wbi^ h be judged fuhfeFvi^Qt tp
the elucidation of the 3acred Annals, with a refe^Qce tp
chronology^ gemafogy^ and htftory. Few and jn^;^-
liderable are the propofed emends^tioos, which re^ pn
DO better authority^ than his own privatje conjefiure*

Th£ texts where thefe emendations h^ve beoi pror
pofed^ the njumbers to be corre£led, an4 tlye fpbjjc^s
to which they refer» are fpecified as belpiy^

J^ehoboam's age for

4«

read 27

X Kings

xhr.

lO.

Amon'9

%%

4»

% Chroa.

xxxiii.

%l.

u^%

t

' iS

xxxiy.

i;

Zcdcki^h*!

%l

3^

■

xxxyi*

!'•

Jehoftapbats rei^

X?

•

t Kiogs

• ••

111.

I*

A&8

3^

a6

% ChroQ.

XVI.

I*

E c 3 This

4» ^/> I. NIbwton'/ Cbr$mkgy.

This very diminutive fum of dircordatit m
the pedigrees, and chronology of the whote Bible, does
not exhibit fo bulky and portentous a figtttt^ U might
be prefumed, from the loud and frequent cfaMMUfr <>f
itiodem free-thinkers, who would nothefitate toapolo^
gisce for errata far more numerous and iinportafif^ in
the puny volumes of Eutropius or Floras.

These ftridures, on this great man's laft bequeft
to the litetary world, might have been extended to a
thuch more minute fpeciiication of articles fuGceptible
t)f improvement, or tranfcendently excellent. A finall
Ipecimen of either kind was intended to be fet before
the public, with quite other views, than to difparagea
thataSer, every way refpe£bble, and- whofe renown
bis own vahsable works will tranfmit to a very remote
J^bfterity, with increafing honour.

Sir I. Kewton^s principles of computation are ap*
]|[)Iieable to tnany more hiftorical fynchronifms, than
site menlidhed by himfelf, or can here foe enmnerated.
Thbfewho wifh to fee the fuhjeft profijiiu'ted more
diffufiVely, fitom the time of the Judges in ifrael' to
the captivity of Zcdekiah, may confiHt Di^^ Wihder's
^iftory of Knowledge, ehieHy reli^ou^ 2 vols* 4to,
1746, a work now alrtioft forgotften,

Frqm the fa£ls eftabliflied in this chapter, natural
is the inference, that the fall of Troy is the rife- of the
true hiftorical era among the gentiles. For, in a very
ihort time after, commenced four famous national eras
as in the fubjoined fcheme of their date^v

Trox

FlXkD PERIODS.

423

Troy overthrown, A. P. J. 3813, coinci-

.

dentfwith

A* M. 3ie8

Ifcw Satemklniilt ty Teuccr - - —

•• •'.- -.-.^

Dido lays the foundation of Carthage

II

Source of computation by the Olympiads

106

Firft Varronianyeai: ofRome .

U

Firft year of Nabonaflar's era

6

Sir IfaacNeiw^toh's cbonology ends

416

A. P. J, 4383. A. M. 367?.

On£ gencfral refie£lion, though obvious, is too im-
|>ortaht to be omitted. The arts of computation had.
made fuch progrefs in the pagan world, that the foiir
principal fixed periods of gentilifm commenced before
the Annals of the Old Teftament were concluded*
Thefe periods are called the artificial chronology. Biit
the Greeks had calculated eclipfes about the time of the ,
70 years captivity,, which is the era -of ailronomical
chronology. Before the clofe of the Hebrew ca^oil
49 of the 490 prophetical years had elapfed, lb thatlthe
remaining 341, ending With /the crucifi;«iph, , ruji •
parallel wifli the correfpondipg ye^rs of ^he Olyippiad^
of Rome, ofNabonaflar, and of the Seleucidas. Sdch
was the providential care of overruling Wifdom in aip^
pointing fit and efficient means for explaining the oracles
of prophecy by the chronology an4 hiftory of l^ogdomSt

Ee4 CHAP.

....im.h-^'^.

1 -wt.

>*i;

, ^. K' . «•• •-'^'- «'► i*

C H AP. .¥.-:

^» • ; » —

Falcone^*/ CbronplqgicakT^biein

•'^niTii I LE AisJaftOi^t was under ttie compofitor^s
V bands, this publrcafibn wai ?(dvertifed Fpr fi^c.
Its profeffed* defign is fo conftrua a ctiirondlogical chain.
uniting the common biftory wM'tW facrea, from the
demiieof David to that of Aleiinde/'ttvi Great, by
the Mc Thomas Falconer- of eheftei Efrf. The title
prompted puriofity, 'tocf even impatience, Wj«^ the

volume, fo recently -annbunc^d,

• « ' . '' ' ' .,.,.*. /• -

In a PRErAT<>Ry "^biscoxjRSE iif 734 q^^^fQ
pages» ^ are ejcplaifjcd -fhc principal cpluinns in the

^abks^ y^^K^ we^e itftetided to fill up the 'dark period

between fter^//d«of thejewifli, and the r^rto«/y of

the Greek biftof)^. Thofe on the left hind, reprefent*

ing the kitfgdoms of Judah and Ifrael, are reguTatcd by

the admirabte fvfiem of A- B. l)(her, but witliout foU

lowing hiin implieitly year by year. The nrft column

on the left hand is the Julian Period, which may be

. . . . •^ . '■ ^ «♦' ' '•'

(Compared with that on the oppbute fide, denoting the

years before the birth of our blefled Saviour, according

to the vulgar era ; and the other column of numbers,

adjoining on the right hand, to the chronicle of Ifrael.

IS

1 ■•

Accession ^Soi^pMON. 425

'i[s.mea|it to prove the truth of Ezekiel's predi£Uonof
390 ycArs, and may ferye as a regifter of time, from
ithat HDtecf ep^ tlife fepamioh oftKe tv?o^m|d6ms!*
Pref, p. 6. •&€.

On the plan and,execurioti of this work, it is judged
expedient to f^ggeftn few Cjurlbry remarks.

I. Usher's admrabU fyftem^ afligning a fal^ date
both for the creation, and for the vulgar era, takes
four hi&orical years from the age of the world, and bj^ J*
the fame quantity anticipates the true year of our Lord^s
birth/ Thus the interval, which comprehends 400S '
agronomical years, is reduced to 4000.

To give, iifpofliWc, the figure of fcientifical precw-;:
fion to a mutilation fo violent, the Primate was obliged ^
to retrench four years from the reigns between Davidoi:7
and the 1 1 th year of Zedekiah. Hence the chrohology^io '
of the Annals, erroneous in the beginning, middle, and
end, forfeits every claim to the charaGcr of an ^ccurate\-,:v^
^nd infallible direflory, for the interval* , 1

The great Sir Ifaac Newton, projeding a well pro* v-
portioned and durable fabric, had not the precaution to^
clear away the rubbifti of the old building, before he ^
laid the new foundation. For this reafoiy« certain im*
perfe£lions, inherent in the compofition of the
Annals, are derived to the Chronology of
ancient Kingdoms amended.

Mr. F<ilconer, not fufpe£ling fundamental overfights
in the principles ^tfTumed by his predecefTors, and eager
to reach the conclufion of his work, transports jiir ^ ^

readers.

446 F A L c o K ek'jt Chroft4lo^ad Tdbles.

tAdcrs, at once, into the very cciitet of bis fahj^S^
like Horned in tbe veiy opening othit poem.

Semper ad even turn feftinat ; & in M£I>IAS RES
Non fccus ac notas Auditorem irapit. Hon.

But to the grand event he fpeeds his couHe,
And bears his readers with impetuous force.
Into the MIDST of things; Francis*

To afcertain the true date of Solomon's acceffion, it
is neceflary, that Ufher's radical miflake, in conne6ling
the firll year of hiftorical time with the number of the
Julian Period 710, inftead of 706, be re3ified.

From the creation to the demife of David, the inter-
mediate (pace is 2991 aftronomical years, the laft incom-
plete, at his death. Solomon's reign is therefore dated
from, the Hebrew month Nifan, A. M. 2991 ; to this fum
add the antemun^ne numbers of the Julian Period,
705, and the firft of Solomon coincides with A. P. J,
3696. In the 40th of his reign he died, and that year,
as incomplete, is accounted the firft of Aeboboam*
From the 39th, therefore, of Solomon exclufively, arc
the 390 years of forbearance with the apofiate tribei
computed :

Solomon's acc£SSion.

World. J. Per. B. Chu

Hiftorical Arrangements 2991 3696 1017

Uiher's Annals ^99^ 37^' ^^^3

Falconer's Tables 37^3 '^^^

Obviovs

I>£ATSi9^S0L0M0K. 42;

OBVt 6u^ is the incbngraily of UOier's notations fblr
the numbef of the Julian Beriodi and the year& before
the vutgar era. Falconer does not follow him im-
plicitly » year by year, and deviates fo *much farther from
truth, by injudicious correfHon,

Solomon's death.

,

World.

j.p*.

B. Chr.

Kiftorical Arrangements

3031

3737

977

Ufcer's Annals

30«9

3739

975

Falconer's Tables

3742

972

Expiration off the 390

YEARS.

Hiftorical Arrangements

3420

4125

588

Ufher's Annals

3420

4130

584

Falconer's Tables

•

4132

582

The true quantity of the interval from the 39th
of Solomon, to the nth of Zedekiah, excluding
both, is a problem eafy of folution. It is divided into
three periods, as in the fubjoined fcheme.

I . Revolt of X Tribes. 2 The two thrones vacant. 3 .Rcdu^ion of Samaria.

Rehoboam

17

Athaliah

6

Hezekiah

*3

Abjjah

3

Jehoaih

40

Manaifeh

55

Afa

40

Amaziah

29

Amon

|ehofha|>hat

H

Uzziah

52

Jofiah

31

Jchoram

8

Jotham

:6

Jehoiakim

II

Ahaziah

I

Ahaz
Hezekiah

16
6

Zedekiah

10

93

165

i3»

In col. I. the 41ft of Afa, and 25:h of Jehofliaphat
are, as current, accounted feverally the firft of the

fubfequent

428 V Falcon er'j ChromhgicalTohhf.

fubfequent reigns. Thus are the 95 years of this firft
pericxl reduced to 93 : and 93+165 + 132=390, the
lad of this number ending fome time in the fourth
Hebrew month of the xth of Zedekiah. This prince was
taken into cuilody, and tranfported one full year, after
the ultimate term of the Divine patience with the of-
fending houfe of I frael.

It has been noted, that Ufher afligns but.4900 years
from the creation to the true hillorical year of thp In-
carnation, and that this number is deficient by fishl:
years. Of thefe 4 have been reftored by tiansfernng
the date of the creation from the 710th to the 706th of
the Julian Period. The Primate retrenches the a^d
and 24th of Jehofhaphat, the 40th of Jehoafli, and, the
i6thof Ahaz, not only without authority, but in dire^
contradiflion to every criterion of hiftorical truth.
Thus are the 390 prophetical years either reduced to
386, or their expiration brought four years lower thaii
their defined period. But be thefe four years reftored
to the reigns of Jehofhaphat, Jehoafh, and Ahaz, then
chronology will perfcilly accord with hiftory, the true
year of our Lord's birth with A. M. 4004, and the
Vulgar computation with 4008. Tbus far concernuig
thofe arrangements, which aSe£l the Sacred Hiftory
alone. . It remains to examine

2. The fynchronifms of the Sacred and Gentile
Hiftory, In his advertifement Mr. Falconer notes,
«' Whether we adopt the extended calculations of Era-
tofthenes, or thofe more contrafted by Sir L Newton,
the fcripture hiftory isequ^lly diftinS from the prpfari^j

and

•• • • ♦

HOveHthrow ^Troy. 4^'

and the taking of Troy, wherever it is placed, has n6
reference to the JcwiDi hifiory, or any of the kingdoms
connected with it.** *

This pofition is rather bold than jiift. If it be
fufceptible of a good meaning, penetration, in no com-
mon degree, is requifite to make the difcovery. The
Scripture Hiftory is dtfitnSf from the Profane, becauft
the rfc^ni!f oiF both are dlftinft. But if thofe * records
which contain an account of the kings in Jiidah ttiA
Ifriel iuggeft plain intimations of affinity with the
royal family of Tyre, and of a famine in Ifrael and
Phoenicia, in the reigns of the contemporaty princes
Afaab and Ethbaal, it feems firange to affirm, that thd
annals of Tyre have no reference td the Jewifti hiftOry*
Should it aj^spear, from any record, not formally proved
to be a courtterfeit, that Troy was overthrown in the
archonfhip of Meneftheur,.an Atheoian magiftrate, €o»-
cxlftent with Jehofhaphat in Judah, the man who would
aflert, that fuch an event had no reference to the
hiflory ot the Jews or Athenians, might juftly be fuf*
pefted of fceptical infatuation.

^ From various,* arbitrary and equivocal, pofitions of
Herodotus; sirfd other authorities, equally controvertible,
iliis writer poftulates, that Troy was demoUfbed in the
1 2th of Reboboam, which yeai- he marks in paralleliftn
with A. Pi J. 3754> and before the vulgar era 960.
Thefe notations, however, indicate the 18th of that
reign ; or the 66th year prior to the 18th of Jehoflia-
phat. 516^7/ arrangement has not the recommendation
of one decifive fynchronifm ; this of Sir I* Newton

..J derives

43^ F A LCO N E r'x Chronohgical Tahta.

derives confirmation^ equal to the highefL degree oi
moral certainty, from a train of circomftances ift
chronology, genealogy, and hiftorjy all fuperior ta
chance, collufion, or impoflurp.

If thefe remarks be jufty with refpefi to co-exifieni
chaHra3ers and events^ among- je¥^ and gientiles, wtulc
the former had national records, and a roysd odeiM^r )
it can fcarcdy be prefumed, that tbefe Ch&qko.lqh
GiCAL Tables will afford light fufiiciem, through
that dark period, from the overthrow of: JeruffJem to
the expedition of Xerxes«

On the principles of the old artificial chronologyy
this prefatory difcourfe has confiderable inent ; b^t
a fyfiem, cpnIlruAed on precarious, notsoss^ md^ a|
variance with nature and fcieoce, cai^ add nothingHtO
the general ftock of knowledge^ in coiopariron-o^ whi/ch
mere audition and> teaming avail little*. NfHtraltQ**
getherwithout utility are the Tables* F^» engrpfle^ oo
good ^lean paper, and a ftzeable lea^ they may prpl^y
foon find, their way to tBofe aromatic repofitories^

Where pepper, odors, franklncenfe, are fold.

«^-— in.vicum vendentem thus et, odores,
£t piper, et quidquid diartis amicitor ineptis. Hon*

CONCLUSION.

X 43» ) .

C O N G li U S I O N.

I» the fo»sgOing pages, froquent opportutiiti€S,ha^
ocKomed oidoing juftice to the ancient Jewsy as- faithi*
fttl: guardtaniof the 4iv»ie oracles, sukI of vindicating
them from the very improbable flander, raifed againft
then;b^.. feveral primitive Fathers, and modern criticSf
as if they; had f wilfnlly, and with Univcrfiil <:Onfent
abddge4; ^ MoTaical chroxx>logy, one generation, (mt
twpy 4ftctri{their general^dirperfion.

Isr is bat«quitab)e to add, that, ever from theitiR^e
of thfiti:aw&il. revolution, their defcendants havie uni^-
fohidy.di&vowf(|^ in jpriiiciple and. pfa^ce, all con*
formit)i with idolatrous rites, refrained from peribcution,
and abated in their zeal' for making* profel)^e$r In
fome of their convocations ha vq they exprpfled their
opinion, that the time for the appearance of the
Meiliah is paft, and that, on account of their fins^
their fanguine expe£lations have been fruftrated.

According to certain foreign gazettes, great num*
bers of the Jews in Italy have (hewn, of late, a fpirit
of indifference to their religious ufages, as inconvenient
and unprofitable ; and their Rabbies have convened a
general Synod at Florence, the members being delegated
from Modena, Mantua, Rome, and other ciiies, where
the Jews have fchools, — After a conference of tea
days, they have deteripined to reform their cufioms, in

feveral

» J * \

432 Co N C L U S LO K«

feveral particulars : and among others to prevent hirt'^'
France of bufiners, the fabbath (hall not be obferved oit
Saturday, but on Sunday *•

These refolutioni wtkaate j^Ullcal wifdom, and
refpeA for the conflitutlons of Chriflendom. One prin*
ciple maintained in the preceeding Analysis^ cob-
firmed by the teftimony of infallible hiftory^and demon-
flrated by aftronomical calculation^ is the transferring
of the fabbath from the viith to the 1 ft of the week at
the Exodus. By that change^ and the abrogation of the
Molaical fabbath, at the refiirreOion of Jefus, the
iirft day of the Jewi(b and Chriftian week, became the
viith, in the rotation of weeks from the beginning/
By a partial conformity with the gofpel, eminently fid)-
iervient to their own fcctilar intereft, the modem Jew?
fiiould not fcruple to obferve that day« which Adamy
Noah, Abraham,, and all the patriarchs before Mofesy
did aQcouAt facred to devQjtkm.and left.:

• Sec the London Newfp^ipers for April »7th 1796-.

F X N X S.

I » )

I

. PROPOSALS

;pRINTING ^ [SJI^SCRIPTIQN,

RESEARfcH^s 'itftd the Origin and Progre/s cf
Uifioricaf Ttmei from the Creation to the Demije
cfTiberiitf i^erjo,
- ■ . m TimEE:PARTS. . ' ■ , .

* •«

I. O R I N :G i P L£ J5 ,of CQnaputation by natutjal fi^nd
inftitwted roeafcMr€5s 3 — d?iys, vreeks^ liwijatipns,
equinoxes, folftices ;-n-fii)gle y?ajs, natural and cfvil,
couunon wd bUT^XtUe, lunar, luni-folax, foIar-tropicaI»
fidereal, hiftorical, prophetical \ — feftivals of the Jewifli-
:v^prfhip ;fr-ye^K >n cqmbinatipnjor circuJatixig periods i
tbs olympiftd and luftrum^ fs^b^tic^l years and
jubiles, cycles of the fun and moon, eclipfes, with
their repetitions ^-r-rfixed ^periods, more remarkable
epochs in the flexed and gentile hiftory ; rife and fall
of ancient en^ix^s ;--^hronological ftile, the Grego-
rian adjufted to the Aftronomical ftandard, and con-
tinued b^^k from ^he time of the Nicene council to the
Chriftian era; thence to the origin of meafured time.
To all thefe meafut^s are .applied the generations of
men, the duration of m?igiilr^cies^ reigns, poutii^cateSy
and ot,her fupren(ie or fubordinate dignities.

II. Historical Arrangements from Adam to the

<

acceffion of Caligula, in the year after the crucifixion ;—

A com-

( 2 )

comprehending occafional flriQures on the chronolo-
gical fcheraes of Patau, Scaliger, Ifaac VoJQSus, Sir
W. Raleigh, Sir J. Marfliam, Sir I. Newton ; Arch-
bifhop Ufher ; Bifhops Beveridge, Clayton, Comber-
land, Loyd, Mann, Newcome, Pearfe, Pearfon,
Richardfon, Squire; the Reverend A. Bedford, Blair,
Jackfon, Kennedy, Kennicott, Playfair> PrielUy^
Strauchius, Whifton ; — as alfo on Grotius, Pilkington,
Trapp, Yardley, and other writers on the {acred ge-
nealogies ; Pay ley on fabbatical inftitutions.

III. DissERTATiONSon important fubjefts in facrcd
cri^cifm, fubfervient to illuftrate or confirm the prin-
ciples and conclufions in the foregoing parts.

Dissert, i. On the dates of the books, in which
is contained the hiftory of the Old and New Tefia-
ment.

2. Chronology of the Hebrews and Gctitiks
compared with refpeft to authority, genuinenefs, and
truth,

3. Examination of the genealogicaf numbers
in the Samaritan and Greek Pentateuch, Jofephus, and
others, difcordant with the Hebrew notations, prior
to the birth of Abraham,

4. History of the Sabbath from the primeval
week to that of Chrift's refurredion.

5. True times of the Hebrew feftivals from the
firft Paflbver in Egypt, to the laft in Chrift's miniftry.

6. Origin of alphabetical compofition and national

records.

-7. Means.

' ( 3 )
7^ Means of preferving traditional knowledge,
prior to the era of written language.

8. Gradual preparations for the introduflion of

the gofpeh

Illustrated with aftronomical calculations, and

chronological tables. The ^whole intended for an

improvement of Archbifliop Uflier's Annals, and Sir

I. Newton's Chronology.

By theRev*RoBERT Walker, ReQor of Shing-

ham, Norfolk.

London to be printed for T. Cadell jun. and

W« Davies, (Succeflbrs to Mr. Cadell) in the Strand.

CONDITIONS.

The work will be printed on a fine paper, and
elegant type, in two volumes quartp, ppce 2 /• 2Sm
to be paid when copies are delivered to SUBSCRIBERS.

ammmammmsamoL

ADVERTISEMENT.

So ME. readers may pronounce every attempt to ereft
the febric of ancient Univerfal Hiftory, on the bafis of
Aftronomical Chronology, a vifionary projeft, to the
execution of which the human faculties are inadequate.
In the prefumption, that the fcheme is practicable, the
author proceeded to colleft materials, which he found
to be various, fuitable to the propofed end, and fufficient
to enforce conviftion. To facilitate the ftudy of
facred litet^ture, by evincing that the objedions, daily

" ' At, urged

( * )

nrgcd ag^infl tlic credibility df ibe Holy Oracles, rife
froxn ignorance and fofAiftry, was faisprerailzsg motive
to t!iis ardoous cnterprize.

Of truth in aC its modifications God is the taigmi
fom-cc, and ail his works it pervades. Katntc, Provi-
dence, and Grace , are drftind dcparbnents of one grand
and complex 9 but harmonious icwiue^ m wmdi stre
ci:fit>rc7iccs of adminifljations, bat the fame Lord ; and
ai\'erritir5 oi operationsbtttlfee &meOod, wiiowoxbtfa
«iH in uH : thai is« whofe ail powerful energy conduSs
to aioiirailc and benc&cial ends, the ieparate and
c .tmbinei tcndcnrics of fecoDdar\* cauSs^ sid fubordinate
r*ican5 ; m^t to fpaak of monl ageats^ contributing theii
sid. \^ !Uii.vjt kuowksdge, and o&m beyond their in-

1 \ ihr f jiThlnnailr i&raTeologv, natoie is an inde-
^rriiirn: prmr.ijflr^ ana providexlce9 cfauice. — ^Words,
iis "lb J3^ r^pp*:i^d. are wi^oui a meaiui^. Grace too is ex*
pkiiirJl I'A th; pT'otefci ' iii^^ off fatality* as the chimera.
%c fiirtrrftiriwn and i ! U} i v.<CM t- Bttt if lie uiiirezf e be the
vru'r. A £«fjc7iria^ FcTfesxinn^ if die creocs of time be
c\xzT-c^icl Vv jjI-J-.rrilsij; WiHam^and if liie difcDveries
c^c^TVta^.TK-i! or t:ir SIbiit wen? indeoi vtMidi&ded by tbe
* Tfii'Sf!: iti L5j;te* wi; r iip ^ i iiaB d the Ids, mooo, ^ai
'ftr.'^ t^ftl: »'irr.4ii» i» *br £nnamoBt of ihe hsaniei^ to
-i^..Y-j3f tV &n ri-cim the ntrrht^ xsi 10 }r fcr b^ani
$,v icadoBUii «xi£ SrY fires and y^aas^ libe o^cnx in*
:»c!vw*^r -u.* *Tn« X ATT XL and yn^Taj&ixci are
^♦i:ihrri?^;a *> ftr d:^f«niarinB *rf cxaci-.'* If do

( 5 )

as they have QQe cpn^mon Lord, a perfed har^
mopy of operation is foj^pfaible, in the means, iC^ufef,
and effeSs, employed during a}! thf intermediate {(aigef.

The Sacred Apnal^ together mfy the Prophetical
Qr^plcfif define with fcientifical precifion the interval,
in days, weeks, months, a;id afi^onomical yej^fs, fr(>qi
/^ jam to the reigp gf Caligula ; nay foretel fuch eycnjUi
as ace now fulfilling or yet to be fulfilled, prior t9
the cqnfumn?ation pf things. No where elfe is a primary
fource of jcomputation to be found. This interval is
fubdivided into diftinQ parts, each of a determinate
lengthy and all conducive both to the cale and certain^
of reckoning ; — for example.

From Adam to Noah ; hence to Abraham, and from
him to Mofes, is the patriarchal economy continued^
and the feveral periods circumfcribed within limits
charaderifed by defined aftronomical quantities.

In like manner is afcertained the fpace from Mofe$
to Jofhua, and from the intermediate judges, to Samuel ;
whence the computation proceeds by Kings to the
fife of the Chaldean monarchy.

Th e canonical hiftory of the Jews ends about 440
years before the crucifixion, that is, half a century
after the commencement of the famous feventy pro^
phetical weeks : 368 years from the refioration of the
Olympiad, 345 ftom the Varronian era, and 339 from
that of NabonalTar* By the feventy prophetiCfi^l weeks
is the chronological chain continued, from the firft
point in meafured time, without the lofs of one link ;
^niby (hefe three notable er^s of the gentiles, h the

A 3 Sacred

( 6 )

Sacred Hiftory brought into aftronomical connexion
with that of the pagan empires, in continuous fuc--
ccflion, and co-exiftent periods.

Christianity, or thedoftrine of grace, is not quite
to ancient as the creation. But it certainly did com-
mence immediately with the apoflacy in paradife.
Befdte fin entered into the world, the luminaries had
begun their courfes, and by their periodical revolutions
are mcafured, with an exadnefs, which extends to the
minuteft fraflional parts of time, thofe interrpediate
ages from the prime fource of computation to the very
day, when the fecond Adam rofe from the grave, to ai^
cndlefs life and univerfal dominion.

Though it is not affirmed, that a diftinfl knowledge
of the chronological charafters, in the Bible, is of equal
importance and neceflity with belief in the do£lrines
and fafts of Revelation ; yet, if the veracity^ of the
facred writers can be cftabliflied on the bafis of de*
monftrative fcience, it muft appear, that the objec-
tions, ftill urged again ft the credibility of the holy
oracles, are the offspring of ignorance and fophiftry.

For evincing the certainty of the Bible Hiflory,
. Genealo^ is an eflential ingredient. During the firft
three ages of the world, that is, from the creation to
the Exodus, thefum of the intervals in family defcents
is the paft duration of thp planetary fyftem. In afcer-
taining this criterion of chronological truth, one axiom
is fundamental : " The age of procreation muft accord
with |he ftandard of natural life, in the feveral ages
pf the world." This axiom merits exemplification.

( 7 )

1, *^ AxL the days of Jared were 962 years, and he
died." This notation harmonifes with that other
chronological charafter, which connefls the birth of
Enoch with the 262d year of the fame Jared.

a. From the birth of Arphaxad to thatofNahor
the grandfather of Abraham, ( feven generations)^ thp
iifual ftandard of natural life was between 250 and 300
years, and the common age of procreation 30, plus
minus. Thefe arrangements are congruous with the
courfe of nature. But in the generations, after Nahor,
the ultimate period of mortality was comprefled within
lefs protraded limits ; and, at the fame time, the mean
proportion of generations was extended to 60 years an4
upwards, in the line at leaft of Terah by Abraham.
That, in all the other families*of Noah's progeny, and
even thofe in the line of Shem by Haran and Nahor
the fons of Terah, procreation made a lef^ rapid pro-
grefs^ during a feries of generations, is not credible*
But probable reafons may be afligned for a longer fpace
between defcents in the families of Ifaac and Jacob,
than of Khmael andEfau. IJere ^ minute fpecifi;
cation would be improper.

3. After Terah was the ftandard of natural lifp
comprifed within the fpace of two centuries ; yet if
the reckoning be continued from Judah exclufively tp
the defcent into Egypt, he was the grandfather of two
twins, Hezron and Hamul, by Pharez,the youngeft of
four fons, at the time of that defcent : fcarcely half
9 cpnti^ry. The improbable circumftances ?re ; —

A 4 , Judih*s

( 8 )

Judab's marrUge wai hot folemnifed Before the 27th
year of his age ; — neither was Pharcz born before the
expiration of ao years morfej and 27+201=4.7 ; which
obvious and diort operation continues the teckoning
lo within two y^ars of Jacob*s removal with hii whole
family from Paleftine to Egypt ; in which ^pedition^
Pharez, Hezrbn, and Hamuli are mtotioned among
the threefcore Imd fix fouls who accompanied Jacob
S^nd his defcendants> from the 1 2 patriarchs. Much
Ynore natural it is to poftulate, that thefe and many
other names, now extant ih the xlvith chapter of
Genefis, were taken from records of a fubfequen^
date, to fill up deficient names.

4. The generations pofterior to the entrance into
Caftaan, and prior to the birth of David, are but four,
mi the interval in time 406 years ; each Ton mud there-f
jforc have been born at or after the looth of his
father's life. In four fqcceffive inftances fqch incidents
arie improbable, efpecially on the popular hypothefis^
that natural life was reduced to its prefent ftandard fa
early as th^ cgrefs from Egypt. Such incoherent prin-
ciples and contradidory decifions, found criticifm mul^
'|iot only explode, but re-eftablifli felf-cofrfiftent truths.

From natural phenomena the facred annals derive
con^rmation. Memorials of 2^ deluge once yniverfa]
'^xift in every cjinaate. The acomplifhmeqt of pre-
4i£lions, which threatened the defolation of fevera]
ttties, fome of them never to be rebuilt, is recorded ii;
JLUthentic biftory, though difficult it is to afcertain the
names of fome, or the file of others, Qf many notable

<erm%

( 9 )

terms in computation, commemorative ordinances were
appointed at the time, and remain to this day ;-^tfatt
weekly fabbath- from the creation, the Paflbver anjl
other periodical folemnities of Judaifm from the Exodus^
the Feaft of Purim, &c. No fnch credentials occur ia
the annals of paganifm. The vaunted achievements of
Semiramis, Sefoflris, Alexander, A^^^^ &^ ^^
0Ot perpetuated by memorials, in a continuous feries»
from the ages in which they lived to the prefent
times.

The antiquities of Egypt have been carried thoulamb
pi years beyond thofe of the Hebrews; tbofeof Chaldei^-
hundreds of thoufands ; and tfaofe of China, millions ;
but their wildly exorbitant computations reft on no
fcjentifical principles. Their feveral dynafiies, con*
llrufted without regard to a firft point of reckoning, to
natural meafures of time, or combinations of its integral
parts ; to generations^ in a continued progreffion ^ o^
tohidorical incidents ; exhibit every afpe3 of allegory^
|i£lion, and deliberate forgery-

With the like charafters of incredibility^ though of
an inferior degree, is the chronology of the Gr. Pen-
tateuch chargeable. Jt enlarges the count of yearj
from Adam to Abraham by almoft $fteen centuries*
|*Tot the lead veftige of evidence occurs, or can be pro-
duced, to juftify the conjedure, that the Mofaical
numbers in the fifth and eleventh chapters of Genefjs
were greater in the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus thaii
^n our Bibles now ; or that they have been abbreviate^
\H the intermediate ages. Thp A^pxandriaQ Ti^anflatorSi

( »o )

xnifled by the incredible antiquity, which the Egyptian
priefls afcribed to their monarchy, rafhly adventured to
faifify the true Mofaical chronology, not by changing
the genuine numerical notations, but by adding one
century to the age of feveral patriarchs at the nativity
of their fpecified fons. In the ivth century of the
Chriftian era was the fraud difcovered, and in part
reflified, by Jerome, in his vuIgate Latin verfion. His
authority, however, was inadequate to remove the pre.
judices in favour of a fcheme eftabliflied by prefcription.
The Jews at laft, adhering to the Mofaical text, with-
drew their regard from its faulty verfion ; and the
weftern churches of Chriftendom, adopting Jerome's
Latin Pentateuch, received unawares the true Hebrew
chronology. Yet the Proteftants at the Reformation
generally approved the amplified numbers of the Alexr
andrian interpreters. About the middle of the paft
century, A. B. Ufher reftored the Hebrew computa--
tion, which Whifton and certain later writers have
ventured once more to explode. Were this verfion^
now preferred to the original, in every other refpeft
fuperior to reprehenfion, in one view it is exceptionable.
Mofes was the firft who inftruQed mankind concerning
the origin of the world, the time of its formation, and
the hlftory of the firft ages. No ftrefs is here laid on
the evidences which jiuthenticate his fpecial and pecu-
liar commiffion, to teftify that the univerfe is the
produftion of wifdom, goodnefs, and power, all ade-
quate to the exifting phenomena. With refpeft to pri-
prityoftime, harmony of parts, congruity witl? nature,

and

( II )

mi every circumftance of credibility, whether intrlnfio
or adventitious', his report has every criterion of truth*
Neither the Scribes who executed the Samaritan copy^
nor the commiflioners who fabricated the Greek verfiont
and, from finifter views, corrupted the original numbers
of the Pentateuch, have the leaft claim to implicit
belief, much lefs to preferable credit. On the moral
charafler of witnefTes always depends the validity of
their teftimony. That of Mofes is fuperior to every
fufpicion of deficient or fallacious materials, artfully
conneded to miflead a credulous multitude.

What though his account of events and dates wa$
not compiled from records of former times ! Originality
is not an infallible criterion of impofture. Counter^-
feit coin implies a pre-exiflent model. It muft b(^
rioted, that Mofes could not impofe on his contempor
raries a fiflitious hiftory. By his arrangements above
2500 years had elapfed from the creation to thepafTagf
over the Red Sea. From Adam to Noah tradition
had pafled through but 9 ftages in 15^ centuries, a term
fcarcely equivalent to three of our generations, a^
now compreffed within the. limits of a fingle century.
Shem the fon of Noah lived five centuries after thp
birth of his fon Arphaxad, and confequent-ly died "in
the 60th of Ifaac, which is the year of Jacob*s birfh>
co-incident with A. M. 2159.. Levi, the fon of ^^^
Jacob, converfed with his own grandfon, Amram, thp
ftther of Mofes. So that from Jacob to ,Mpfes» both
excluded, are but two generations during the lapfe of
4.20 y?ars before the Exodus j — a period, not much
<' - exceeding

( la )

caureediflg 60 years of tradidonal hiflor}^ As the
xaemory of the pagriarcbs, colle£lively, was in the age«
prior to alphabetical coinpofitioD> the treafury of au*
tbentic hiftorical truth, iznpoflible it was for Mofes tp
efcape detedion, if he had pretended to contradict the
univerfal report of uncorrupted tradition.

Incredulity may ilill remonilrate, that tradition
could not preferve pure and unvitiated the contents of
the Mofaical hiftory, during the currency of twenty*
jive centuries.

It is replied, that the hiftory of the world's origin
could not be known without a fupernatural communica-
tion. To Adam it was firft of all revealed. Who
"will venture to deny, that it was, if need were, re«
peated to Mofes i A late * tranflator of the primeval
hiftory fcruples to admit the divine infpiration of the
writer. Let him enjoy all the credit and comfort of
bis own paradox.

In the writings of Mofes, as in the other volumes of
the facred code, are recorded many things, which
4iuman fagacity could not forefee. The Lawgiver of
the Hebrews, in particular, foretold the fpecifical puni(h<*
ments referved for tliat people, if they Qiould dege-
nerate into idolatrous practices, and reje£l the great
3PK0PHET, to be raifed upfrom among their brethren.
They contra£led that guilt, and underwent the awful
judgements, which had been denounced. The difperfed
90d (oxlQxn condition of their pofterity, at this day^

l^earf

( «3 )

l)cars Witnefs to t!ie prophetical charafter of the firft
hiilorian. As without a divine itnpulfe he could not
predift the events of a remote futurity, it cannot tc
ihcOrigruou* to fuppofc, that, in compofing the hiftoiy
t)f 25 paft centuries, he was under the influence o£
rupernatural dircSion.

During the latte century, the patrons of facrei
literatore fignified their wifli to have all the exifting
manufcripts of the original Hebrew and Greek texts
of both Teftaments carefully compared, that fome one
topy, worthy to be admitted as the ftandard of textual
purity, might be compiled from many, and retain the
verity which pervades all. By the laudable induftry
and (kill of feveral accomplifhed matters in facred
criticifm, have the fanguine hopes of the Proteftant
churches been amply gratified, and not Without the
concurrence of the learned in the Romifh communion.

Some of the reafons urged for collating manufcnpt
and printed copies, verfions, (ancient and •modem),
quotations, See. merited immediate regard, and liberal
encouragement. Others fpecious, but nugatory, cap-
tivated the attention of the public ; and by a kind of
difa(ftrous fatality, **ihe' worfe appeared the iretter reafon^
to perplex and dafh matureft counfels." For the pre-
ference of the amplified Greek chronology to the very
moderate Hebrew notations, the arguments are, ** as
the drop from a bucket, fmall duft in the balance, and
Icfs than nothing." Of a minute fcrutiny, the refiilt was
a pcrfeft harmony between all the chronological
charaflers from Adam to Terah. Yet, as if the-Hcbrev^

•numbers

( H )
numbers had, as tiniformly contradi6lory and rhtrita^
lious of reprobation, forfeited every claim to proba-
bilitx. ; the report of the Greek tranflators, vague as it
generally is, and, in. its chronology, convided of
deliberate and wilful forgery, is fet forth by Whiftoot
Brett, Hay, Jackfon, Kennicott, and Geddes, as the
primary model of chronological precifion.

Every friend to the human race, and to ehriflianity,
which comprehends the interefl of the whole fpecies,
mull derive pure complacence from the continually
multiplying editions of the Englifh Bible from the
Britiih pre fs. Many of them, as fpecimens of elaborate
mcchanifm, fuperfine paper, elegant types, fuperb
binding, exquifite fculptures, and other exterior deco-
rations, folicit and obtain extenfive and liberal en^
couragement.

It is with deference fubmltted to the judgement of
an impartial and difcerning Public, wh^it regard may be
due to Propofals, of which the ultimate 6bje£l is to
accomplifh Sir Ifaac Newton's arduous enterprize, fo as
to make Sacred Hiftory fuit with itfelf, with the
Annals of Paganifm, with the natural meafures of
time, with national eras, with the courfe of nature
in the generations of men, and with civil magillracies.

Subscriptions to be tranfmitted to any of the
Bookfellers in Great Britain ; or to the author. No. 6»
Crown Court, Little Pultney Street, Weflminfter.
The papers, now ready for publication, will be Qmt to
prefs, as foon as a competent fubfcription ihall be
notified.